Ian the Ivatt Engine
by CarsWorldFan
Summary: Gordon has always claimed that "Tender engines don't shunt!" So, one day, the Fat Controller decides to prove to Gordon once and for all that tender engines do shunt. However, shortly after the new engine, Ian, arrives, some of the steam engines fall mysteriously ill. Gordon blames Ian for the epidemic, and so Thomas and Ian join forces to uncover the truth.
1. Chapter 1 - Tender Engines Don't Shunt!

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 1 – "Tender Engines Don't Shunt!"

"Oohh!" Gordon groaned with annoyance. He was standing on platform 1 at Knapford Station, waiting for Thomas to bring over his express coaches. His passengers were all waiting on the platform, but with no coaches, they couldn't board.

Gordon glanced at the clock again. It ticked over to his scheduled departure time. And there was still no sign of Thomas with his express coaches.

The Fat Controller came out of his office. He was surprised to see Gordon still at the platform. "Gordon? What are you still doing here? And without your coaches as well…"

"It isn't my fault, sir. Thomas is late with my coaches."

"Thomas is busy doing a job for me, Gordon. You'll have to fetch your own coaches today. In fact, you'll have to collect them from now on. Thomas already has more than enough work to do, without having to shunt your coaches as well."

Gordon was shocked. "But, sir! Tender engines _don't_ shunt! I've been saying that for years. It is beneath our dignity. If Thomas can't fetch my coaches, get Percy to do it."

"Percy has his own work to do as well, Gordon. That is, when he's in service. Right now, he's at the Works undergoing some maintenance. Now, hurry along. The express is late enough as it is."

"But, sir!" Gordon protested, but the Fat Controller was already heading back towards his office. Fuming, Gordon headed off to the carriage yard.

Back inside his office, the Fat Controller pondered the situation. It had been years since the Knapford yard had had a permanent shunting engine, and he had an idea to teach Gordon a lesson.

"Now, where did I put that paper…? Ahh! Here it is!" With the located paper in his hand, the Fat Controller picked up his phone to make a call.

…

Meanwhile, Thomas was on his way back from the docks. Cranky had broken down that morning, delaying the transfer of goods from the ship into Thomas' trucks. That in turn had made him late leaving the docks, and now he was late to take his morning train on his branch line. Thomas hurried, but he was still exhausted from being up all night taking the mail train for Percy, who was away at the Works undergoing regular maintenance. Thomas' crew had been able to swap over to a relief crew that morning, but poor Thomas didn't have that luxury. He'd just have to keep going to get all of his, and Percy's, work done before the end of the day.

As Thomas approached Knapford, he saw Gordon rapidly approaching him from the opposite direction with the express. Thomas whistled cheerfully in greeting, but Gordon ignored him and rumbled on past. Thomas frowned, but since it was Gordon, he didn't think too much of it.

Once Thomas had arrived at Knapford, he shunted his trucks into the yard, and then he went to fetch Annie and Clarabel.

"Thomas! Where on earth have you been?" Clarabel demanded.

"Yes, Thomas," Annie added. "We're late."

"I know, I know," Thomas replied, irritably. "But I can't be expected to do all the work around here, and still be on time." He stiffed a yawn. "I am so tired…"

Annie and Clarabel were immediately sympathetic.

"Oh, you poor engine," Clarabel said.

"Just do your work, and then I'm sure the Fat Controller will let you have a rest," Annie added kindly.

A shunter coupled Thomas to Annie and Clarabel. He then took them over to Platform 1.

Thomas stood panting in the station, while his passengers boarded. All he wanted to do was to go back to his shed for a nice, long sleep, but he still had far too much to do. _Still,_ he thought, _it wouldn't hurt to close my eyes for a few minutes…_

The sound of a guard's whistle woke Thomas abruptly a few minutes later. He was surprised that he'd actually fallen asleep, and he started with a rough jerk.

"Oh! Thomas!" Annie and Clarabel exclaimed in unison.

"Sorry," Thomas apologised as he accelerated out of the station.

…

Later that evening, Thomas found he could barely keep his eyes open as he made his way back to Tidmouth shed. He only hoped that the Fat Controller would be able to find someone else to take the mail train that night, because he was far too exhausted to do it.

Thomas had just settled down to sleep, when the Fat Controller drove up in his car. The other engines watched as he walked over to them.

"Don't get settled, James. I need you to take the mail train tonight."

"But that's Thomas' and Percy's job," James protested.

"I don't think Thomas is capable of staying up for another night," the Fat Controller replied, indicating towards his number one engine.

Sure enough, Thomas had already fallen fast asleep. Frowning, James reluctantly set off. The Fat Controller watched Thomas sleeping for a moment. He knew how hard Thomas had been working in Percy's absence, and so it wasn't fair to him to have to fetch coaches for Gordon as well. He only hoped that his plan would work.

…

The next morning, the Fat Controller waited at Knapford Station on platform 3 for Pip and Emma to arrive from the mainland. The high-speed diesels were a great asset to the railway, because they enabled passengers from the Island of Sodor to travel to London without any delays for engine swap-overs like there had been in the past.

The Fat Controller glance at his pocket watch just as an announcement came over the P.A. system.

"The train arriving on platform three is the eleven twenty-five London express. This train will stop at Wellsworth, Crovan's Gate, Barrow-in-Furness, Crewe, Manchester, Wolverhampton, and will terminate at London Euston."

Pip and Emma glided smoothly into the station platform.

"Ah! Good morning, Pip…or is it Emma?" The Fat Controller said.

"I'm Emma," the engine who was now going to head the train said.

"I really need to get nameplates made up for you two," the Fat Controller muttered as he climbed aboard. Emma was surprised.

"Are you going to London today, sir?"

The Fat Controller paused in the doorway. "No. I'm going to Wolverhampton, and I hope to return with a new engine."

"Ooohh!" Emma squealed excitedly. "Will it be diesel, steam or electric, sir?"

"Steam. Now, I hope there are no delays."

"We won't let you down, sir," Emma promised.

Minutes later, Pip and Emma departed Knapford, heading for the mainland.

…

Many hours later, the Fat Controller arrived by car at the Severn Valley Railway's Engine House at Highley. The railway's manager had been kind enough to collect him from Wolverhampton. The Fat Controller sighed sadly as he got out of the car.

"It's a shame you can't have all of your engines in service," he mused.

"I'd love that too, but the sad reality is that we simply can't afford to keep fifty locomotives running all the time. It's different for you, of course, since the North Western Railway is still part of the mainline." He unlocked a heavy wooden door. "Normally, this building is open to the public, but it's closed today so the engines can be cleaned. Even though they're not running, we still try to keep them looking immaculate."

Upon entering the building, the Fat Controller looked around sadly at all of the engines who, in all likelihood, would never steam again. Many of them looked very sad too. There were a few diesels, but the majority were steam engines. The manager led the Fat Controller over to the far corner where the he saw for the first time the engine that he wanted. The engine was sleeping, so the Fat Controller took the opportunity to walk all around the engine, examining him closely.

The engine was a glossy black Ivatt Class 2 -2-6-0 tender engine. The Fat Controller brushed his fingers over the engine's builders plate. It read – Built 1950 Crewe. _One year before grandfather sent Henry there to be rebuild._

The Fat Controller climbed inside the engine's cab. Ivatt tender engines were unique from other tender engines for one obvious reason; their cab was fully enclosed. That, and their specially tapered tender, enabled them to work just like a tank engine. It was exactly what the Fat Controller wanted.

Crouching down, the Fat Controller opened up the engine's firebox door. The engine stirred slightly. The manager handed a torch up to the Fat Controller. After turning it on, the Fat Controller looking inside the engine's firebox.

"So, you're sure it's just the tube plate that needs replacing?" he asked.

"Yes, although it wouldn't hurt to give him a new set of tubes as well," the manager replied. He patted the engine's running board. "It's a shame we can't afford to do the work ourselves. Ian's been very reliable and hard-working. He'll be an asset to you, I'm sure."

The Fat Controller stood up and he turned off the torch. "All right. I'll take him."

"Hello?" the engine called sleepily. "Who's in my cab?"

"It's just me, Ian," the manager replied. He and the Fat Controller moved in front of the engine, so he could see them.

"Oh. Sorry, sir, I didn't know it was you," Ian apologised. He studied the Fat Controller curiously.

"That's all right," the manager said. "Listen, I know you've been very unhappy since I took you out of service, so I've got some good news for you. This gentleman is Sir Topham Hatt. He controls the North Western Railway on the Island of Sodor, and he wants to loan you for a year or two. Since we're not likely to use you again soon, I've agreed."

Ian brightened for a brief moment, but then he looked sad again. "But…I'm still broken."

The Fat Controller stepped forward. "Never mind about that, Ian. The men at my Works will have you repaired and ready for service within a week of your arrival. Unfortunately, because of your current condition, you'll have to be transported to Crovan's Gate by lorry."

Ian smiled slightly. "I don't mind that, sir, as long as I can pull trains again, and stretch my wheels. I haven't moved from this spot in five long years!"

The Fat Controller hesitated. "Well actually, Ian, I need you to be a yard shunter."

Ian looked sadly down at his buffers. His disappointment was impossible to hide. "Oh… Well, sir, I suppose anything will be better than staying in here for the rest of my life." He brightened again. "Will there be any other engines for me to talk to?"

"Plenty," the Fat Controller smiled. "And you'll be very well looked after, as long as you promise to work hard and do what you're told. You might even have the opportunity to leave the yard from time to time."

"Then, I'll be happy to work for you, sir. I love to work hard. My fitter used to say it was good for me, and he was right…"

"Excellent! I'll make the arrangements to transport you to the Island of Sodor as soon as possible."


	2. Chapter 2 - Ian's Arrival

**Disclaimer: All recognisable character belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 2 – Ian's Arrival

One evening a few days later, Percy ran light engine down the line to Tidmouth sheds. He was glad to finally be out of the Works, and he was looking forward to getting back to work, but first he had some very exciting news to tell the other engines.

The other engines were just getting settled down to sleep in the shed, when they heard Percy's familiar whistle in the distance. Gordon groaned, and he rolled his eyes.

"Look out. Pesky Percy's back."

"There goes the peace and quiet," James added despondently.

Despite his exhaustion, Thomas perked up immediately, and he smiled with relief as Percy steamed onto the turntable.

"Percy! It's great to have you back at last!"

"It's great to be back, Thomas," Percy agreed as he backed down into his berth beside Thomas. "You'll never guess what happened while I was at the Works."

"Oohh! Not another one of your silly guessing games, Percy," Gordon groaned.

Percy huffed crossly. "It isn't a 'silly guessing game'. The Fat Controller has a new engine!"

The other engines were immediately curious.

"A new engine?"

"What's its name?"

"What does it look like?"

"He's a black tender engine, and he's very nice," Percy answered. "I didn't get to speak to him much, because the fitters wanted to work on him. He looked like a brand new engine, so he's obviously been well looked after by someone. He does have a strange looking cab though."

"How can a cab look strange?" James wondered.

"QUIET!" a familiar voice bellowed. The engines fell silent immediately as the Fat Controller stepped onto the tracks in front of them. He cleared his throat. "First of all, Percy, it's great to have you back with us. Poor Thomas was getting run off his wheels doing all of your work as well as his own."

"Not to mention fetching lazy Gordon's coaches too!" Thomas interjected cheekily.

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Cheap shot," he muttered grumpily.

"All right, you two. That's enough," the Fat Controller declared.

"Did you really get a new engine, sir?" Henry asked.

The Fat Controller hesitated before replying. "The new engine is only on loan to us for a year, but if he proves to be really useful, I may consider buying him in the future."

"What's his name, sir?" Edward asked.

"Ian," the Fat Controller and Percy answered in unison. They exchanged smiles.

"Where did you get him?" James asked.

"The mainland."

"Where's he going to work?" Thomas asked next.

"At Knapford as a yard shunter."

Gordon was shocked. "But, sir! Percy said that the new engine is a tender engine…"

"And so he is, Gordon. He's a lot bigger than James, but he's a bit smaller than Henry, so he should be a really useful engine. His repairs are coming along well, so I'm hoping he'll be able to start work sometime next week. I hope you'll make him feel very welcome."

"Oh, we will, sir!" Thomas eagerly promised.

"Excellent! I'll let you all get some sleep now. I expect you all to work very hard tomorrow. James? I thought I'd arranged for you to do the mail run tonight."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, why is it always me?" he bemoaned as he moved onto the turntable.

"Percy will resume his regular work tomorrow," the Fat Controller said firmly. "Goodnight, everyone!"

"'Night, sir," the engines muttered sleepily.

Gordon groaned after the Fat Controller was out of earshot. "Tender engines don't shunt!"

"Did you say something, Gordon?" Percy asked.

"Never you mind," Gordon grunted.

Percy snorted. Then, to Thomas, he said, "I see that nothing's changed while I've been at the Works."

"Nope," Thomas replied. He tried to stifle a yawn, but failed. "Sorry, Percy. I know you want to stay up and chat, but I'm really tired…"

"Oh! Sorry… I'll let you sleep."

"Thanks," Thomas muttered, and he closed his eyes.

…

The repairs to Ian took a little longer than expected, but just over a week later, he moved under his own steam for the first time in five years.

"I feel just like a brand new engine again," he said to the Works diesel. "But I suppose they all say that."

"More or less," the Works diesel agreed. "But you at least still look brand new."

"I know. The men really looked after me throughout my life. They highly value engines like me, you see."

"Were you ever in danger of being scraped?"

"No, surprisingly. Many of my brothers were scraped, sadly, but I was purchased by a preservation society very early on."

"You were very lucky then."

The Works foreman walked over to them. "Sorry to interrupt, but the Fat Controller wants Ian to be transferred to Knapford with Henry's train. It's due to arrive in just a few minutes, so I want you to go over to the head shunt. You'll easily be able to join onto Henry's train from there."

After saying goodbye to the Works diesel, Ian followed the foreman's directions. A few minutes later, Henry steamed in with his train. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Ian.

"It's you!" he gasped.

Ian chuckled. "I wasn't sure if you would be the same Henry I met all those years ago at Crewe, but I'm so glad to see that it is you!"

"Didn't you just have a number when you were at Crewe?"

"Yes. 46443. I still carry that number on my cab, as you can see, but I'm not known by it these days. I was named Ian when I was preserved."

"Which is why I had no idea it was you!" Henry said with delight as Ian reversed onto the train in front of Henry. A shunter coupled them together. "I always thought you'd been scraped."

"I didn't even come close to it. I was too valuable to be scraped. And what about you? I suppose you've been here ever since you left Crewe?"

"Yes, and I'm glad of it. If it wasn't for the Fat Controller, I would've been scraped years ago."

The guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Moving in perfect unison, Ian and Henry steamed out of the station.

"Is this an express, or an all station train?" Ian asked once they were running nicely.

"It's an all stations," Henry replied with a small sigh. "I wish it was the express, but Gordon usually pulls that."

"Who's Gordon?"

"He's the biggest and fastest engine on the Island," Henry explained. "He's very boastful, and he doesn't like tank engines. Well, I suppose he does have a bit of a soft spot for Thomas, but he'll never admit that to anyone."

"I was just about to ask you who Thomas is, but I suppose it might be better to wait until I can be introduced to everyone, right?"

"Yes. Don't worry. Everyone's already very keen to meet you. Since we're friends, I'm sure they'll like you even more."

…

The sun had half set by the time Henry escorted Ian to Tidmouth sheds. All of the other engines, and the Fat Controller, were there waiting for them. Henry reversed into his berth, leaving Ian standing on the turntable.

"Hello, everyone," Ian said cheerfully. He glanced down at the Fat Controller. "Sir."

"Hello again, Ian," the Fat Controller smiled. "I trust that you're feeling better now?"

"Oh, yes, sir! Much better! Thank you. You've been so kind to me, and I can't wait to start working again!"

"My pleasure. I've just been making arrangements for tomorrow. Daisy and Percy will manage things on Thomas' branch line, so he can be free to show you what to do in the yard. Make sure you listen to him, and follow his directions carefully, because after tomorrow, you'll be on your own. Now, I'm afraid I'm rather busy, so I hope you can all introduce yourselves. I'll stop by in the yard sometime tomorrow to see how you're getting on. Goodnight, everyone!" And with that, the Fat Controller hurried away.

"I'm Thomas," Thomas said. "And this is Percy, Edward, James, and Mr Grumpy over there is Gordon. I'm sure you know Henry by now."

"Yes," Ian replied, ignoring Gordon's scowl. "Henry and I are old friends from Crewe. I was still a new engine when he arrived for his rebuild. We spent a few days together before I was assigned to a railway, and had to leave."

"But we both have good memories of those few days," Henry added. "I always thought that Ian had been scraped."

"Did you get saved from scrap?" Edward asked Ian kindly.

"No. As I was saying to Henry on our way here, I was preserved before the men in charge even considered scraping me. They value engines like me, you see."

"Why?" Percy wondered.

"Because I can do any work asked of me. I can haul heavy, slow goods trains just as well as fast passenger trains. And I can pull them in either direction too. I don't need to use a turntable like other tender engines."

Gordon's scowl increased.

"Weren't you ever afraid of being scraped?" Thomas asked.

"Not really… You see, I was sent to a preservation railway just as the mass scraping of steam engines began. None of us knew then just how bad it would be…" Ian exhaled sadly, but then he smiled again. "Thank goodness they don't scrap steam engines anymore!"

"They don't?" Percy squeaked in surprise.

Ian chuckled. "No. These days, diesels are the ones who fear being scraped. Us steam engines often suffer a worse fate than being scraped."

"And what's that?" Gordon muttered.

Ian looked sad again. "Being put on static display."

"What does that mean?" Percy asked.

"That's just a fancy way of saying 'museum piece'," Thomas answered. "I was a museum piece once, and it wasn't that bad, so why is that worse than being scraped?"

"Can you imagine spending the rest of your life in one place, with no hope of ever moving again because you're broken?"

"How awful!" Edward exclaimed. "I can see why it'd be worse than being scraped. Once you're scraped, that's it. But to sit there for years with no hope… I don't know of any engine who would be able to tolerate that."

"Neither do I," Ian agreed.

"Can we get onto a happier subject now?" Henry interjected. "Ian, are you looking forward to being a yard shunter?"

Gordon almost burst out laughing, but he managed to suppress it when the others glared at him. "That's all we need! Another cheeky tank engine running around the yard!"

Ian opened his mouth to reply, but Thomas jumped in first. "You're just jealous, because Ian is much more useful than you!"

"Useful? Pah! He's nothing more than a glorified tank engine!"

That comment produced some horrified and angry responses from the other engine. Ian, however, remained silent. It wasn't the first time other engines had picked on him because of his appearance, but he couldn't deny that Gordon's comment had hurt his feelings.

Finally, the other engines quietened down. Ian looked straight at Gordon. "I can do something you can't do, Gordon."

Gordon scoffed. "And what's that?"

"I can ignore you." He looked at the other engines. "Is there anywhere I can sleep tonight, please?"

"You can use my berth," Percy offered. "I have to take the mail train in an hour, and I'll sleep at Knapford afterwards."

Ian was surprised. "Are you sure, Percy?"

"Of course! You may as well be comfortable on your first night here."

"Thank you. That's very kind of you. I can't wait to start work with you tomorrow, Thomas! I'm sure you'll have lots to teach me."

"Yes, but it's not difficult to learn. At least, I'm sure you'll do better than I did when I first came here!"

The other engines immediately began laughing at the memories of Thomas' first few weeks on Sodor over a hundred years earlier.

 **Sorry about the glitch, everyone. I honestly don't know how it happened. Hopefully, this copy works properly now.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Ian Meets the Twins

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 3 – Ian Meets the Troublesome Twins

The next morning, Ian awoke before all of the other engines. He was naturally an early riser, but even if he hadn't been, he doubted he would've been able to sleep for much longer, given the amount of noise the firelighters were making.

 _I suppose I'll just have to get used to this again_ , he thought with a small sigh. It was still rather dark, but the first rays of sunlight could just be seen peeking out over the horizon. Glancing to his right, Ian saw Thomas' crew oiling and greasing his wheels. The little blue tank engine was still sleeping peacefully, completely undisturbed by what his crew were doing to him.

Ian's firelighter began shovelling some coal onto his small fire. It immediately began picking up. Since Ian was bigger than Thomas, he'd need at least an extra hour to light up properly. Gordon, Henry and James were already building up steam while they slept. Like Ian, they needed more time to build up steam, so the firelighters had attended to them first.

A couple of hours later, Ian was growing impatient. He now had enough steam to move, but Thomas was still asleep. He could hear Thomas' steam pressure slowly rising, so he couldn't understand why the little tank engine was still fast asleep.

"Thomas?" Ian whispered. "Thomas, wake up! It's time to get to work."

"Mmm… Five more minutes…" Thomas muttered in his sleep.

Ian groaned. He never could understand why anyone would want to keep sleeping when the day had already started. He waited patiently for a few more minutes before he tried again.

"Thomas!"

Thomas jumped awake. "What?" he hissed.

"Wake up! It's time to go to work."

Thomas scowled. "I'll decide when it's time to go to work…"

"But… Shouldn't we have everything ready in time for the other engines to take their trains?"

"We still have plenty of time," Thomas grunted crossly.

Ian sighed again. "You're not an early riser, are you?"

Now it was Thomas' turn to sigh. "You're right, Ian. I'm not. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to start a little earlier than I usually do. Follow me."

When they'd reached the Knapford yard, Thomas took Ian over to where the coaches were stored. "We'll start with the coaches, since they're the most important thing you'll have to get right. The green and cream coaches are for Gordon's express. The railway has two express trains. There's the mainland express, which is operated by two high-speed diesels, Pip and Emma. They only come here once a day, and they're scheduled to arrive at eleven a.m. You won't have much to do with them. Then, there's Gordon's express, which runs three times a day, departing at seven a.m., eleven-thirty a.m., and three p.m. You'll have to have his coaches ready for him on platform one at least ten minutes before departure."

"Okay, I'll try to remember those times."

"Don't worry, Gordon always kicks up a fuss if you forget, so don't stress about it. Now, those brown coaches are Henry's. His trains always depart from platform five at seven-thirty a.m., noon and three-thirty p.m. The red coaches are James'. He only runs two trains a day, because he has goods work to do as well. His trains depart from platform six at nine a.m. and four p.m. Now, for the trucks…"

"Wait! What about those two coaches over there?"

"Oh! They're my coaches, Annie and Clarabel. Please, don't move them, even if you want to help me. I like to know where they are at all times."

"I understand. So, let me see if I've got this straight. Gordon departs from platform one; Henry from platform five, and James from platform six?"

Thomas smiled. "That's right!"

"What about your trains?"

"I always use platform one as well as Gordon."

"Who uses platforms two, three and four then?"

"Platforms three and four are for terminating trains. The engines will leave their coaches there for you to collect and bring into the yard here. As for platform two, it's a loading platform for goods trains, so I'll explain about that once we get to the trucks."

"Okay. What about Edward?"

"He has his own branchline, but none of his passenger trains terminate here. You'll be handling his trucks though."

Ian frowned. This was far more confusing than any yard he'd worked in on the mainland. Then again, those engines hadn't had their own coaches assigned to them. They just took whatever they were given, and that was that.

Thomas continued explaining this as they moved further down the yard towards the trucks. Ian paused when he saw the breakdown train standing in the far corner. In his mind's eye, he saw a glimpse of himself hurdling towards a breakvan, unable to stop. It was only the briefest of flashbacks, but it was a memory he'd suppressed long ago. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to make the horrific flashback disappear.

Thomas was still talking. "…and if you have any trouble with the trucks, Edward can show you how to manage them. After all, he's taught all of us how to manage the trucks." He paused when he realised that Ian wasn't listening. "Ian? Are you all right?"

Ian jumped, opened his eyes, and snapped back to the present. "Yes! I-I'm fine. You were saying?"

Frowning, Thomas followed Ian's gaze. "That's the breakdown train. It's for emergencies only."

"I know," Ian whispered. He shivered. "Uh, so what's next?"

"THOMAS!" a familiar voice boomed from the station. "Where are my coaches?"

Thomas rolled his eyes. "He's five minutes early! We'll make him wait."

"Why?"

"Because it's Gordon."

"That's not a good enough reason," Ian protested. "I mean, he may be a bully and bossy, but that's not a good enough reason to deliberately make his passengers late."

Thomas was surprised! Before he could think of something to say in reply, Ian reversed over to where the express coaches were standing. A shunter coupled him up to them, and then Ian set about shunting them into position behind Gordon.

"There you go, Gordon!" Ian said once he'd been uncoupled. He ran down the length of platform two, so that he was standing alongside Gordon. The big engine sniffed.

"What are you looking at?" he demanded to know.

"I'm still trying to figure that out!" Ian quipped. He steamed away, laughing.

Gordon groaned as he watched Ian return to the yard. "Ooohhh! The indignity!"

…

Later that morning, Ian was having a rest in the yard, while Thomas went to refill his bunker. Bill and Ben arrived in the yard with a long, heavy train of stone. They didn't normally travel to Knapford, but there'd been no one else available to transport the stone, so they'd offered to take it.

"Oh, look Bill! There's a new engine!"

"Oh, yes! He looks rather strange, doesn't he?"

Ben giggled. "It looks like whoever designed him couldn't decide if they wanted to build a tender engine or a tank engine!"

"Poor engine. He's probably very mixed up in his smokebox."

"Let's have some fun, and trick him! I'll go first."

Ben steamed up alongside Ian, and he sounded his whistle. Opening his eyes, Ian glanced down at the smaller engine beside him. He took note of the engine's large nameplate.

"Hi there!" Ben said cheerfully. "I'm Ben. What's your name?"

"Ian."

"That's a nice name! You look very strong, but I'll bet you can't pull those trucks of stone over there all by yourself."

"I don't have to," Ian replied indifferently. "Oliver will be here soon to take them to Arlesbrough."

Ben hadn't expected that response! "Err…well…you see, I uh… Well, how about we have a race then?"

"Sorry, I'm not allowed to leave the yard without the Fat Controller's permission."

Ben didn't know what to do now! He'd never met an engine who was so obedient before. He pretended to be offended. "Well, you're no fun! I'll go and find someone who is!"

"Like Bill, you mean?" Thomas asked as he came up behind Ben.

Ben gasped. "Thomas! Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Your twin. He's over there, behind the water tower. More to the point, what are you two both doing here?"

Bill reluctantly came out of hiding. Ian chuckled quietly. "So, that's what you were up to! You were trying to trick me! Well, it looks as though your little prank has backfired."

Bill and Ben pouted. They weren't happy with either engine.

"Why did you have to go and spoil things, Thomas?"

"Yeah! You've never been the same since you became a frying pan for those eggs," Ben added.

Thomas' face turned red with anger, and he let off steam crossly. "Get out of here before I make you!" he snapped.

This was exactly what Bill and Ben enjoyed. "Oohh! You need to settle down, Thomas, before you blow your safety valves!"

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened a few seconds later. All of the men in the area cringed, and they covered their ears as compressed steam rushed loudly out of Thomas' safety valves. His fireman quickly turned on the injector and, after about ten seconds, the safety valves closed and the deafening noise was silenced.

"Temper, temper!" Ben teased.

Thomas was about to say something to the twins, but then he saw the Fat Controller approaching. He didn't look very happy.

"What is going on out here? Whose safety valves went off?" he demanded to know.

"I'm afraid it was mine, sir," Thomas admitted ashamedly.

"In all fairness, sir," Ian interjected, "Bill and Ben were teasing him."

The Fat Controller turned on the twins. "Bill and Ben! I gave you strict instructions to leave as soon as you'd delivered your trucks! Why haven't you?"

"Err…this new engine stopped us," Ben said quickly.

"Yeah!" Bill added. "He wanted to talk to us."

Now the Fat Controller turned on Ian. "Is this true, Ian?"

"No, sir," Ian replied evenly, although he was raging inside. "They're just saying that so they don't get into trouble for trying to play a trick on me."

The Fat Controller groaned. "Bill and Ben! Return to the China clay pits at once! You've outstayed your welcome in this yard!"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Bill and Ben muttered as they steamed away.

Ian silently breathed a sigh of relief. "Are they the only set of twins here?"

"No, but they're the only ones who'll bother you," Thomas replied. He was still very cross.

As soon as Bill and Ben had disappeared from sight, the Fat Controller turned to face Ian and Thomas. "I've been watching you two from my office," he told them sternly. "Ian, you've been doing a good job so far, but you still have a lot more to learn. I can understand if this is overwhelming you a bit, but don't be too hard on yourself. You seem to have learned more in one day than what Thomas learned in a week! And the yard was only half as busy then as it is now."

Ian sensed that the Fat Controller was complimenting him. "Thank you, sir. I'll keep trying to learn as much as I can today. Thomas has been really helpful."

That comment seemed to calm Thomas down at last. The Fat Controller saw Thomas relax, but he decided not to mention it. After all, Bill and Ben often made him feel tense as well. He softened.

"Well done to the both of you then. The yard has been running very smoothly today, thanks to you two. Only one train has departed late, but that had nothing to do with you. As a reward, after you've finished here for the day, you can both have a thorough wash and polish."

"Thank you, sir!" Ian and Thomas said in unison.

"You're welcome. Now, carry on. There's still a lot of work for you to do today." The Fat Controller headed back over to the station. Ian and Thomas grinned.

"Let's get back to work!" Thomas said eagerly.

"Yes, let's!" Ian agreed. And they both hurried further into the yard.

 **Please, feel free to leave a review. I'd love to know if everyone is really enjoying this story, because I sure am! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Acts of Kindness

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 4 – Acts of Kindness

Ian woke up early again the following morning. He'd slept at Knapford sheds that night, so that Percy could have his berth in Tidmouth sheds back. He looked around at the other engines that were sharing the shed with him. He'd met them all the evening before.

First, there was Donald and Douglas, the Scottish twin. After his run-in with Bill and Ben, Ian had been very cautious at first, but as he got to know them better, he relaxed. _Thomas was right_ , Ian thought happily. _Bill and Ben are the only twins I need to watch out for._

The other engines in the shed were Daisy and Toby. Daisy had immediately ignored Ian, so he'd returned the favour by ignoring her. However, Toby and Ian had quickly become friends. Their unusual designs meant that they had at least one thing in common, and they'd spent most of the evening discussing other unusual engines they'd seen.

Ian was ready to go by the time the sun had started to rise. It was only six o'clock, but Ian didn't care. He liked to be early, because that way he would never get into trouble for being late. He was a bit nervous about having to handle everything in the yard by himself that day, but he knew he could always ask someone for help if he wasn't sure about something.

The first thing Ian did was to collect Gordon's express coaches, and shunt them over to platform one. He then shunted Henry's coaches to platform five, and James' coaches over to platform six. Once he'd done that, he looked at the station clock. It was now twenty-past six.

 _Oh well… I'll just shunt Edward's trucks together, and then I'll go and refill my tender. I hope I'll have more to do later…_

...

At a quarter to seven, Gordon steamed into Knapford Station. His jaw dropped when he saw not only his express coaches waiting for him, but also Henry's and James' trains ready and waiting.

 _Am I late?_ He glanced up at the clock. _No… This is…very unusual…_ He reversed slowly onto his train. The passengers were delighted by the fact that they didn't have to wait to board their train.

The Fat Controller arrived at the station then. Even he was surprised to see that the express was pretty much all ready to go ten minutes early. He also checked his watch, just to make sure it was still working. It was, of course. He walked over to Gordon.

"It's nice to see that you're all ready to leave early, Gordon."

"Er… yes, sir…"

Glancing beyond Gordon, the Fat Controller's eyes nearly popped out of his head! He was shocked to see the other trains waiting for their engines. Glancing over at the yard, he saw Edward just pulling out with his trucks. Shaking his head in disbelief, he went into his office.

 _This has to be Ian's doing,_ he thought as he sat down at his desk. _But I'm rather surprised. I knew Thomas would teach him the basics of what to do, but I wasn't expecting Ian to have everything ready on time on his first day, let alone early! I'll see how well he stays on top of things before I commend him. He may have panicked a little this morning, and as a result, he managed to have the trains ready early._

Meanwhile, Ian was getting himself a nice, big drink and a fresh load of coal. He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. It was a little salty being so close to the sea, but he didn't mind that. Having spent most of his life in the Midlands, he'd rarely been given the opportunity to see the ocean.

Once Ian had had his fill, he went inside the station to check the time. Gordon had departed by then, but Henry was just arriving to take his train. He was equally surprised to find his coaches ready and waiting for him. Ian smiled contently. He then looked inside the Fat Controller's office.

The head of the railway was busy talking on the phone, so he didn't see Ian. Ian frowned a little when he saw how dark and drab the Fat Controller's office was. _It needs something to brighten it up…_ His eyes settled on some wildflowers growing beside the line just outside the station. _Of course!_

"Driver?"

"Yes, Ian?"

"Is there a flower store around here?"

"Yes, there's one in the concourse. Why?"

"Don't you think Sir Topham Hatt's office needs a touch of colour?"

The driver looked, and then he smiled. "Now I'm thinking what you're thinking. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Ian's driver purchased a bunch of flowers in a vase from the stall, and then he headed towards the Fat Controller's office. Ian watched through the window as his driver placed the flowers on the Fat Controller's desk. He chuckled when he saw just how surprised the Fat Controller was by the unexpected gift.

Turning, the Fat Controller looked out of his office window at Ian. Ian smiled and winked. But then his smile faded when he saw the Fat Controller leave his office with his driver.

 _Uh, oh! I hope I didn't go too far…_

But the Fat Controller was smiling as he approached. "Ian! I've come to thank you for the flowers. I didn't even realise just how dull my office was, but you're right. It does need a touch of colour. I'll try to remember that."

"I'm glad you like them, sir."

"I gather you were also responsible for ensuring the first trains left on time this morning?"

"Yes, sir. I wasn't too early, was I?"

"What? No, Ian! You weren't! I just hope you can keep it up."

"Oh, that's easy, sir. I'm an early riser, so I can get all of my early morning work done before the other engines even wake up."

The Fat Controller pondered this for a moment. "How early do you like to wake up?"

"Before sunrise, sir. I love watching it come up."

"Hmm… I wonder…"

"What, sir?"

"Let me think about that for a while, okay?"

The Fat Controller's phone rang then.

"Bother! Thank you, Ian. I'll stop by later and see how you're going." He hurried back into his office.

James steamed brashly into the station. "Where are they?" he demanded to know.

"Where are what?" Ian wondered.

"My coaches, of course, you silly engine!"

"You mean the ones over there on platform six?" Ian retorted dryly.

James stared at his coaches in surprise. "But, I… Thomas never… I've never had my first train prepared for me," he faltered.

"If you don't want my help, you can fetch your own coaches if you'd prefer."

"No, no! It's fine. I just never expected… I'd better get going."

Ian watched James back down onto his train. _So far, the only ones who've thanked me are Edward and the Fat Controller._

Hearing Thomas whistle behind him, Ian hurried to get out of his way.

"Morning, Ian!" Thomas called.

"Morning, Thomas. How are you this morning?"

"I'm well, thank you. I'm just about to take my first train."

"Have fun then!" Ian returned to the yard to await his next task. He didn't have long to wait.

About fifteen minutes later, the Fat Controller strolled across the yard. "Ian? I have a special job for you."

Ian was surprised. "For me, sir?"

"Yes. I can't spare any other engine at the moment for this job. I need you to go to Toryreck on Thomas' branchline, and collect a very important shipment of uranium from the mine there. You must be extremely careful with it, because it can be hazardous if it's handled incorrectly. Once you've collected it, you're to take it to Brendam on Edward's branchline. Since your crew come from the Severn Valley as well, and they aren't familiar with the railway yet, I've arranged for an inspector to travel with you. This shipment is so important that I've decided to give you right-of-way priority until you arrive at Brendam. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Ian replied. "Can I ask, if this cargo is so hazardous, why does it have to go to Brendam?"

"It's going to a new chemical plant that's been built near the China clay pits," the Fat Controller replied. "Of course, it wouldn't have been built at all if I'd had my way…"

The inspector joined them then. He smiled when he saw Ian. "Why didn't you tell me the engine I was going to be on was an Ivatt Class 2, Sir Topham?" he asked. He began to examine Ian closely. "Beautiful machines, these Ivatts…" he mused. He looked up at Ian's crew. "I've heard that they handle better than any other engine ever made. Is that correct?"

"Well, sir, we certainly wouldn't want to be on any other engine," Ian's driver replied.

"He's a piece of cake to fire as well," Ian's fireman added. "Honestly, I think he could be managed by just one person on the footplate!"

The inspector looked delighted. "I can't wait to see that for myself!" He turned to the Fat Controller. "What about you, sir? Why don't you come with us?"

The Fat Controller hesitated. "Well, I hadn't planned on it, but now that you've aroused my curiosity, I suppose I could spare the time to join you. I didn't know Ivatts were easy to drive and fire. I've only heard that they were well-known for their versatility. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Ian groaned. As if being responsible for an important train wasn't enough, now he had to contend with two visitors on his footplate as well! His driver patted his side.

"Never mind, Ian. Just pretend that this is one of those enthusiast trips we used to do at the Severn Valley."

"That doesn't change the fact that one of the men riding on my footplate is the man who could send me home in disgrace!" Ian grumbled.

"He'll only do that if you do something completely unforgivable," his fireman said. "Cheer up. Sir Topham Hatt is very impressed with you right now. We'll just give them a decent run, and then we can get back to what we were doing."

Ten minutes later, having changed into overalls, the Fat Controller returned. Once he and the inspector were on board Ian's footplate, they set off.

Despite the visitors to his footplate, Ian made good time to Toryreck. He found his special train waiting in a siding for him. Some of the trucks had warning labels stuck on them. Ian carefully reversed onto his train. The trucks were already rather agitated.

"What's this?" one of the trucks asked rudely. "You're not a proper engine!"

"Really?" Ian responded mockingly. "And what makes you think you're proper trucks?"

The trucks were surprised! No engine had ever spoken to them like that before. Unable to come up with a response, they quietened down.

Once everything was ready, Ian set off. He struggled a bit at first, since the load was heavy, and he was unfit, but once he had the whole train moving nicely, it became easier.

Soon, Ian was steaming along the mainline towards Wellsworth. He kept up a steady pace; not too fast, and not too slow. The trucks tittered happily behind him. Ian smiled. That was a good sign. Happy trucks meant he'd have a smooth run. He knew full well from experience what could happen when trucks became cranky and annoyed. However, the good mood amongst them didn't last long.

"Faster, faster!" the silly trucks called.

"No," Ian told them firmly. "The cargo you're carrying is very important and dangerous, and it must get to its destination safely. That's why I'm not going to go fast. Maybe on our way back we can go a bit faster."

Surprisingly, the trucks seemed to settle for that.

Meanwhile, inside Ian's cab, the inspector and Ian's crew were explaining to the Fat Controller the reasons why Ivatts were so special. The Fat Controller was most amazed by just how little work Ian's fireman had to do.

"This is an easy load for Ian," the fireman explained from his seat. "Ivatts were specially designed to haul long, heavy trains slowly. They're like the draught horse of the railways. Of course, they can also manage fast passenger trains just as easily."

"We're not going to push Ian today, since he's still very unfit after sitting idle for five years," Ian's driver added. "Maybe in a few weeks, we could arrange for Ian to give you a proper demonstration of just what he's capable of."

The Fat Controller liked that idea! "I'll make the arrangements when you think he's ready."

As they approached Wellsworth, Ian was surprised to see Gordon waiting at the platform. His face was almost purple with rage. It took Ian a few seconds to understand why.

 _Gordon's been shunted! I can't believe it! The Fat Controller really wasn't kidding when he said I'd get a clear run the whole way. This cargo must be extremely important if the Fat Controller is prepared to stop the express…_

Ian whistled loudly as he rumbled over the points that led onto Edward's barnchline. Gordon's rage changed to surprise when he saw the Fat Controller on Ian's footplate.

"Oohh! The indignity…!"

…

Ian made his delivery safely, and he returned to Knapford with his train of empty trucks, and the Fat Controller and inspector on board. He was very relieved to make it back to the yard safely.

"Well, I must say that I've been thoroughly enlightened!" the Fat Controller said as he climbed down from Ian's footplate. He patted Ian's running board. "We've certainly found a gem! Why didn't anyone tell me how good Ivatts were sooner?"

"Well, sir, there are only seven Class 2's left in England. And only five of them are in operation, including Ian," Ian's driver explained. He patted Ian's side. "I'm glad you're impressed with Ian, sir. He's a great engine."

"So I can see," the Fat Controller agreed. "Right, Ian, please get back to work now. It looks like James and Gordon haven't bothered to put their coaches away, so you've got some work to do."

"Yes, sir!" Ian replied eagerly.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Confrontation

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 5 – The Confrontation

"So, what do you all think of Ian?" Henry asked as the engines settled into their berths for the night. It had been a full week since Ian had started working on the Island of Sodor, and the engines had now settled on their opinions of him.

"I like him," Percy squeaked enthusiastically.

"Of course you do, Percy," James retorted rudely. "You like everyone."

"That's not a bad thing," Edward pointed out. "We can all be friends with whoever we like. As for me, I think Ian is the best thing that's happened to this railway since Thomas arrived."

Flattered, Thomas flushed slightly.

"Nonsense, Edward!" Gordon snapped. "Ian doesn't belong here! He's not a proper engine."

"Of course he is!" Henry snorted. "You're just too blind to see how useful he is."

"Useful? Pah! He's about as useful as a tank engine…"

Thomas and Percy let off steam indignantly.

"At least Ian can haul trains in reverse like we can," Thomas said furiously. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Fat Controller decides to let Ian take the express from now on."

Gordon snorted. "He'd never do that! The express needs an important engine like me to pull it. But he might take away your number one, little Thomas, and give it to Ian."

Thomas scowled. "Ian wouldn't accept that. He isn't selfish like some big engines I could mention…"

"I'm not selfish!" Gordon protested crossly.

Henry sighed loudly. "Gordon, Ian has had your coaches ready for you early all week. And you haven't even bothered to thank him! That is very selfish."

At that moment, the Fat Controller's familiar blue car drove into the yard. The engines fell silent as he approached.

"Henry, I've come to tell you that you may sleep-in tomorrow. Ian is going to take the Flying Kipper instead of you."

Henry's jaw dropped in surprise. "Why, sir? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not," the Fat Controller smiled. "Ian's an early riser, so I think he'll enjoy it more. Don't worry. This is just a trial to see how useful he can be."

None of the engines responded, so the Fat Controller climbed back into his car, and he drove away.

"What did I tell you?" Gordon said darkly. "The Fat Controller is probably planning to replace all of us with more engines like Ian. He has to go."

"It's not his fault," Thomas ventured. "We're all useful in our own way, and the Fat Controller just wants to find out what Ian's strengths and weaknesses are."

The other engines readily agreed. Gordon grunted indifferently.

"Suit yourself. But you'll find out that I'm telling the…" Gordon let his words linger as Ian's whistle sounded in the distance.

A moment later, Ian steamed onto the turntable, where he stopped, facing the engines. "Hey everyone! I hope I didn't interrupt you?"

"Not at all," Edward smiled.

"Good, because I just wanted to make sure that Henry's okay with me taking the Flying Kipper tomorrow morning."

Henry smiled at his friend. He was just about to answer, when Gordon moved towards Ian.

"Of course he's not okay with it!" Gordon snapped in Ian's face.

Ian couldn't hide his surprise. "H-He's not?" he stammered.

"No! And neither am I! In fact, I'll be a whole lot happier once you've gone back to the mainland! Mixed-up engines like you don't belong here on the Island of Sodor!"

"Gordon!" Edward admonished. "That's not true! Ian is very welcome here, and it's not up to you to decide who should stay here. You are not the Fat Controller!"

"At least I know my place!" Gordon snapped back. "Ian isn't a real tender engine, because he acts like a tank engine. That's all he is; a glorified tank engine, who's just pretending to try and be as good as me! We all know that he never will be!"

Ian looked ready to burst into tears, but he managed to suppress them while Gordon stormed back into his berth. He glanced around at the other engines. They all looked shocked by Gordon's outburst – even James. Taking a deep breath, Ian glared straight at Gordon.

"You're not a real tender engine, Gordon, because real tender engines pull their own weight," he said quietly, and evenly. "That includes doing their own shunting." Then, raising his voice until he was shouting, Ian added, "If you were on the mainline, you'd be scraped for being lazy!" Pausing just long enough to let that sink in, Ian continued, "I have done everything I can to be nice to you, Gordon, and you have not even so much as thanked me! Even James was kind enough to thank me for fetching his coaches yesterday! Well, if that's the way you're going to be, I give up! You can fetch your own coaches from now on!"

The tears finally fell from Ian's eyes as he hurried away in reverse. The engines were silent for a moment, but then Percy set out after his friend. Thomas and Edward promptly followed after him. Finally, Henry and James also left the shed, leaving Gordon all on his own.

…

Thomas, Percy, Edward, James and Henry found Ian in the Knapford yard, crying pitifully. They stopped in front of him.

"We're sorry, Ian," Thomas apologised. "If we knew he was going to say that to your face, we'd have stopped him."

"I know," Ian sniffed. He drew in a deep breath to try and stop his tears. "I don't blame any of you at all. I just wish I knew why Gordon hates me so much…"

"He's worried you'll replace him," Edward explained.

"Exactly!" Henry agreed. "He's been watching you all week, and he knows that the Fat Controller thinks that you're a really useful engine, so he feels threatened."

"I don't see why," Ian said as his tears subsided. "I mean, sure, I can do many things, but no more than what you're all capable of doing. My designer, Henry George Ivatt, wanted to build an engine that could do anything asked of it, just in case there was another war. That's why the men love me so much. I'm very easy to drive and fire, and I'm extremely versatile. I've spent my whole life doing everything, from shunting to hauling fast express passenger trains. Unfortunately, our design came too late, and most of my siblings were scraped before they were twenty years old. If the diesels hadn't taken over the mainlines, I'm sure my design would've been incorporated into future steam locomotives. I'm not bragging. I'm just trying to explain to you why the Fat Controller is so impressed with me."

"We've seen how easily you manage the trucks," Percy said. "Is that because of your design?"

"What? Oh, no, Percy! I've had to learn how to handle trucks just the same as any other engine…" Ian let the sentence hang as his thoughts wandered.

"Ian?" Thomas called kindly, snapping Ian back to the present.

"What? Oh, sorry, Thomas. Memories…"

"Why don't you tell us about them?" Edward kindly suggested.

Ian forced a smile. "Another time, perhaps. I need an early night if I'm going to be taking the Flying Kipper in the morning. That is, if you're okay with me taking it, Henry?"

"Of course I am! I could use the extra sleep."

Ian smiled warmly. "Thanks for talking to me. I'm okay now. I'll see you all again in the morning." And with that, Ian steamed over to the shed.

…

Shortly before five o'clock the following morning, Ian arrived at the Tidmouth Docks to collect the Flying Kipper. He drew in a deep breath of fresh sea air. He didn't mind the smell of fish, since it was so new to him. It had rained overnight, and now a light drizzle had settled over the area. While they waited, Ian's crew ensured that all of his headlights were working properly.

On the stroke of five o'clock, the last van door was slammed closed, and the guard sounded his whistle. Ian's crew looked back and, upon seeing the green flag, Ian set off into the damp, misty morning.

Ian hummed happily to himself as he hurried along the line towards the other side of the island. The Flying Kipper vans weren't like the trucks. They were sensible, and so they followed along quietly behind him.

The misty rain quickly dispersed, and the sun was just beginning to rise as Ian passed through Cronk. In the distance, he saw another engine approaching him from the other direction. It was Percy with the mail train. Both engines whistled cheerfully in greeting as they passed each other.

Now that he was clear of the built-up areas, Ian's driver gradually opened up his regulator. "What are you doing?" Ian wondered as his speed began to increase.

"I think it's time we blew some of the cobwebs out of your system," his driver explained. "We're not likely to get another chance anytime soon."

Ian responded willingly. His wheels pounded the rails, and his side rods were little more than a blur as he rocketed along the line going almost as fast as Gordon. He couldn't contain his grin. It felt wonderful! Whistling loudly, Ian disappeared around a bend.

…

A few hours later, the Fat Controller arrived at Knapford, ready to begin another day of work. He'd been pleasantly surprised by a phone call he'd received while he was having breakfast. Ian had arrived with the Flying Kipper at Vicarstown fifteen minutes early! It was a refreshing start to the day.

However, when the Fat Controller stepped onto the platform, he was immediately surrounded by a mob of angry passengers. It took him a few minutes to understand why.

While Ian had left Henry's and James' trains at the platform before he'd left to take the Flying Kipper, Gordon's express coaches were not there. The Fat Controller could see them still standing over in the yard. Gordon, meanwhile, was standing at the platform, yelling for Ian to bring him his coaches. The big engine was turning more and more purple with each passing minute. Thomas was behind Gordon, trying to get into the station, so that he could take his passengers. It was little wonder that the passengers were upset.

The Fat Controller managed to escape from the chaos, and he hurried over to the yard, where Ian was shunting trucks.

"IAN!" the Fat Controller shouted. "I want an explanation, please!"

Ian stopped shunting, and he remained where he was as the Fat Controller approached him. He'd been preparing himself for this moment ever since he'd arrived back from taking the Flying Kipper.

"It's simple, sir," Ian replied bluntly. "Gordon insulted me yesterday evening. He said I wasn't a real tender engine because I act like a tank engine, and he said that I don't belong here on Sodor. I admit that I responded with equal bitterness, but what he said to me really hurt my feelings. My final words to him were that he could fetch his own coaches from now on. I have done nothing to provoke his bitterness towards me, and the other engines can testify to that. If you think I deserve to be punished, I'll accept whatever punishment you feel is necessary, sir."

As he listened to Ian, the Fat Controller began to relax. He didn't doubt any of what Ian had said. It was exactly what he could expect from Gordon. He turned away from Ian while he considered the situation. After a minute or two, he turned back around to face his newest engine.

"Ian, Gordon's behaviour towards you does not surprise me in the slightest. I now admit that I brought you here to teach Gordon a lesson, but my idea doesn't seem to have worked yet. Therefore, I am going to do something I wish I'd thought of doing earlier. After I give him a thorough scolding, Gordon will be made to spend the day here, shunting in the yard."

"With me, sir?" Ian asked incredulously.

"No! _You_ will change places with him and take the express! I feel I should reward you for your reliability, so don't let me down. Now, hurry up and get those coaches over to platform one as soon as possible."

The Fat Controller walked sternly away before Ian could respond. His driver patted his side.

"Let's get going, Ian! We don't want to waste this opportunity!"

Over at the station, the Fat Controller went inside the stationmaster's office, where he made an announcement over the P.A. system. "All passengers please be advised of the following changes to this morning's timetable. The seven-fifteen all-stations train to Ffarquhar will depart from platform one in five minutes. The seven o'clock express service to Vicarstown, stopping only at Wellsworth and Crovan's Gate, will depart from platform two in seven minutes, so could the passengers for this service please make your way over to platform two. We sincerely apologise for the late running of both of these services, and for any inconveniences caused."

Putting the mic down, the Fat Controller turned to the stationmaster. "Please inform the signalman of the changes. I need to go and deal with Gordon."

"Yes, sir."

Gordon was still standing in Thomas' way, fuming, when the Fat Controller approached him. Thomas's eyes widened when he saw just how furious and authoritative the Fat Controller looked. _This isn't going to end well for Gordon…_ he thought nervously.

Thomas was right. As soon as the Fat Controller started speaking, the entire station fell silent.

"GORDON! GO TO YOUR SHED IMMEDIATELY! I'LL COME AND SPEAK TO YOU THERE!"

Thomas's jaw dropped, and he shivered. The Fat Controller had _never_ spoken to any of his engines so aggressively before, and it shocked him. Henry, who was just backing down onto his train, froze. Nobody dared to move for a moment, but then Gordon slunk slowly away.

Once the Fat Controller had gone to his car, Thomas released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Then, Ian pulled in alongside him on platform two with the express coaches.

"What did I miss?" he asked innocently.

Thomas blinked. "You're pulling the express!" he squealed in surprise.

"Yup! Gordon is in trouble. At least, that's what the Fat Controller said…"

"That's an understatement!" Henry exclaimed. "I've never seen the Fat Controller so angry before. I wonder what he'll say to Gordon?"

"Whatever he says, I don't want to be there when he says it," Thomas muttered. Then, to Ian, he added, "We've all had a scolding from the Fat Controller, but nothing like what just happened to Gordon."

"I'm glad I wasn't here to see it then," Ian chuckled. "I just hope that Gordon learns his lesson from this."

"Don't hold your breath," Thomas said, frowning. Thomas' guard blew his whistle then, and he hurried away. He didn't want to hang around when the Fat Controller was so angry.

A few minutes later, Ian departed with the express. He was determined to have a perfect run to, hopefully, put the Fat Controller back in a good mood.

…

Meanwhile, at the China clay pits, Bill and Ben were busy shunting together a train of hooded trucks filled with China clay for Boco to take away. However, Bill wasn't feeling very well. He paused in the shade for a rest in the hope that his queasy boiler would settle down. Ben stopped beside him.

"Come on, lazy wheels! I can't do all of the work by myself!"

"I don't feel well…" Bill groaned.

"Sure you don't! Now, come on! You'll feel better once you're working again."

Bill moved forwards again, but as he did so, a column of grey-coloured sludge shot straight out of his funnel. Bill's driver quickly stopped him and, unfortunately for Bill, the sludge came back down, splashing all over his front end.

"Ew!" Ben exclaimed, pulling a disgusted face.

Bill just groaned miserably in response. 'Ew' was hardly the word he would've used to describe just how awful he felt right then.

 **Hey everyone! I've had a few issues getting chapter to flow properly, so hope it does now. Please, feel free to leave a review, because I'd love to know what everyone thinks of this story so far. Thank you in advance!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Ian's Story

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 6 – Ian's Story

"What's wrong with me?" Bill whimpered.

His driver climbed down to take a look. "You're priming, and very badly too… I've never seen anything like this…" Reaching out, he touched a bit of the sludge, which he then sniffed. "That's strange. It has a heavy, metallic smell to it."

"Well, whatever it is, Bill's not going any further under his own steam until he's had a complete boiler washout," Bill's fireman declared. And he promptly set about dropping Bill's fire.

"I'll go and phone for help," Bill's driver said. "Bill will have to go to the Works."

"Why?" Ben wondered. "If all he needs is a boiler washout, that can be done here, can't it?"

"Priming can seriously damage an engine's cylinders," Ben's driver explained. "It'll be much safer for Bill to be thoroughly checked out at the Works."

"Oh."

Bill groaned again. He still had plenty of that awful sludge inside of him, but he now had no way of getting rid of it. He felt utterly miserable and horrible inside.

Before long, Edward arrived with the break-down train. Ben watched sadly as Bill was lifted onto a flatbed truck. The workmen had just finished securing Bill to the truck, when the Fat Controller arrived. He took one look at Bill and shook his head.

"He's worse than I thought he was," the Fat Controller muttered to himself. He turned towards Edward. "Take him to the Works at once! I'll have to find another engine to come and work here while Bill is away being mended."

Once Edward had departed with Bill, the Fat Controller went inside the manager's office to make some phone calls. He emerged a few minutes later.

"Ben? I'm sending Percy here to help you until Bill recovers. I hope I can trust you to work well with him?"

"Yes, sir," Ben muttered despondently. He felt lost without his twin, and even worse knowing how mean he'd been to Bill just before he'd broken down. He sincerely hoped that Bill would be okay.

…

Meanwhile, out on the mainline, Ian was having the time of his life pulling the express. Most of the passengers were delighted to see a different, and rather unusual engine, hauling their train. Many of them also took his picture on their mobile phones. Ian felt very proud.

When Ian stopped with the 'up' train at Crovan's Gate, he saw Edward shunting a flatbed into the Works. Perched on top of the flatbed was Bill.

"Edward? What's happened to Bill?" Ian called.

"He's sick," Edward replied.

"Oh!" Ian frowned. He'd never been sick before, but he had been in a serious accident. Ian shuddered. _Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Just focus on what you're doing…_

The guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Ian started with a jerk, which really upset some of his passengers. He cringed sheepishly when he heard them complaining.

"Sorry!" he apologised.

Ian ensured the rest of his journey was uneventful. He arrived back at Knapford three minutes early. However, as he pulled into the station, he frowned worriedly when he saw Gordon shunting in the yard. The proud big engine was a pitiful sight. He went about his work methodically, and unenthusiastically. As soon as he saw Ian, his cheeks flushed red with rage and embarrassment.

Ian wisely decided not to hang around. He hurried over to the water tower to get a drink. Thomas was already there, getting a drink himself.

"So, how was your first run with the express?" Thomas asked cheerfully.

"Really good! I hope the Fat Controller lets me out of the yard more in future. It's good for me to go on long runs. You have a lovely railway here."

Thomas smiled proudly. "I hope you get to see my branchline while you're here. It's the best part of the whole railway!"

Ian laughed heartily. "Oh, Thomas! I'm sure every engine I talk to will say that their part of the railway is the best part. Well, I think it's _all_ the best!"

Thomas laughed too. "I guess you're right! I never thought of it that way before. But Ian…?"

"Mmm…?"

"I've been wondering… What were the memories you were thinking about last night?"

Ian's expression turned serious. Then he sighed sadly. "I suppose I'd better tell you, otherwise you'll never leave me alone. But please, don't tell the other engines though. I'll tell them what happened in my own time."

Taking a deep breath, Ian began telling his story.

"After I was built at Crewe, I was sent to work with the LMS Railway in Derby. I began working as a yard shunter, but the men knew my versatility would be wasted if I'd stayed in that role, so I was soon allowed out onto the mainline hauling express goods trains. However, I was often late, and that made my manager cross. But I knew the only reason he let me continue hauling goods trains was because I was so useful, and I'm afraid that went to my funnel. Like most young engines, I tried to push the boundaries to see just how far I could push things before my manager snapped. Unfortunately, I had to learn my lesson the hard way."

"Why? What happened?" Thomas pressed.

Ian closed his eyes for a moment as his long-suppressed memories surged up from deep within his mind. He opened them again before he continued. "One morning, I had to take a goods train from Derby to Leeds. As usual, I was lazy, and I ended up departing about ten minutes late, but I made good time and by the time I reached Sheffield, things were running well. However, shortly after I left Sheffield, I was going along quite quickly when, up ahead, I saw the breakvan of another goods train stopped at the bottom of the downside of a steep grade. My driver slammed on my brakes, and I did everything I could to stop in time, but the weight of the trucks kept pushing me down the hill until I finally crashed into the brakevan. I must have blacked out or something, because when I opened my eyes, I found myself derailed at an odd angle. I was still upright, but my wheels were well off the rails. The report into the accident later found that the train I'd run into had stopped because the engine had run out of steam. The guard had gone up to the engine to find out why they'd stopped, but he got distracted by the crew, and they'd chatted instead of putting out warning signals. Even if he'd only managed to put down one detonator cap, I would probably have been able to stop in time. That's what the report said anyway…"

Thomas was stunned. "What happened after that?"

"The other engine wasn't injured. But I was taken back to the Derby Works for repairs to my front end. I was in a great deal of pain for a very long time, and it was months before I was able to return to work. During that time, the pain was often so bad that I often begged the fitters to just scrap me. That's how bad it was."

Thomas gasped in shock. "But they didn't scrap you!"

"No. They said that I was delirious from the pain, and that there was nothing they could do to help me until my repairs had been completed. However, the pain continued for long after I returned to work. It eventually subsided, but sometimes on cold winter mornings, it returns."

"What about the crew? Were any of them injured?"

Ian swallowed. "The force of my collision knocked the guard off the other engine's steps. He landed heavily on his back, and he broke it. My driver later told me that he was so badly injured that he would never be able to work again. That man was the sole provider for his family. For many years afterwards, I blamed myself for the accident, even though my crew tried to persuade me that I wasn't to blame. I knew that if I'd left right on time, I probably would've overtaken that train, and then the whole accident would've been avoided."

"So, when did you stop blaming yourself?"

"After I was purchased by the Severn Valley Railway. I told the other engines there what had happened, and then they all told me stories about their accidents. I began to realise that I wasn't alone when it came to feeling guilty, and that it was time I stopped blaming myself for something that happened beyond my control. Once I'd made the decision to forgive myself, I began to change my ways. It wasn't easy at first, but a friend of mine at the railway who understood what I was going through, offered to help me. And so, every morning, we raced each other to see who could wake up the earliest. We also raced to get our work done as early as possible, without putting anyone in danger. My manger soon became aware of our little game, and after a few years, he officially praised me for my efforts in changing my ways. As a reward, I was chosen to run on the mainline for the GWR 150 year celebrations, even though I have never been a GWR engine. A couple of years later, I was sent to Wales to replace another engine that had failed during a rail tour. After that, I remained in regular service at the Severn Valley until the day my tube plate finally gave out. My manager was very sorry, because he didn't have the money to repair me, and so he put me on static display. I guess you know what happened after that."

Thomas smiled slightly. "Thank you for telling me your story, Ian. I promise I won't tell the others. Now that I know what happened, I can understand why you are the way you are. Oh! I'd better get back to work now, or I'll be late. We'll talk again later. Bye!"

"Bye, Thomas," Ian replied as Thomas steamed away.

Once Ian's tender had been replenished, he settled down in a siding near the station to have a nap before he took the express again. Across the yard, Gordon glowered at the younger engine from the shadows.

…

Back at the China clay pits, Percy was happily helping Ben shunt the trucks.

"I do hope Bill will be all right," Ben said despondently.

"I'm sure he will be," Percy tried to assure him. "Boiler wash-outs are fairly routine. I had one a few months ago, just so the fitters could check something inside of me that my fireman was worried about. It turned out to be nothing, but I did feel a whole lot better afterwards."

Ben grimaced. "I need a drink."

"Me too, now that you mention it."

Ben hurried over to the water tower standing in the middle of the China clay pits, leaving Percy to use the other one next the edge of the pits. After they'd filled up their tanks, they returned to their work. However, it wasn't long before Percy began to feel sick in his boiler.

"I need to have a rest, Ben," Percy groaned. "I don't feel at all well."

Bill's eyes widened in surprise. "Not you too!"

Percy started to head over to the shade when, just like with Bill, a column of grey-coloured sludge shot out of his funnel. His driver stopped him immediately. Percy shut his eyes as the sludge rained down all over him.

"I feel awful!" he groaned pitifully.

His fireman promptly began dropping his fire. The driver mopped his brow in disbelief.

"Two engines priming in one day!" he exclaimed. "Sir Topham Hatt won't be impressed."


	7. Chapter 7 - Third Time Unlucky

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 7 – Third Time Unlucky

Later that same day, as the sun was just beginning to set, the Fat Controller drove his faithful little car into the yard near Tidmouth sheds. He leaned against his car, quietly watching his engines getting settled for the night. He loved moments like this, when he could watch the engines, and listen to what they were talking about, without being noticed. He knew full well that they were always on their very best behaviours whenever he was around, so moments like this were often a real eye-opener for him. Even though he'd grown up around all of the engines, he hadn't been in charge of the railway for very long, because his father, the third Sir Topham Hatt, had only decided to retire in 2014. It had been a huge responsibility for him to try and step into his father's shoes, but so far his employees were satisfied with his efforts. Sure, he was sometimes a lot firmer with the engines than his predecessors had been, but his great-grandfather, the very first Sir Topham Hatt, had also been very strict, but he felt that was good for everyone, especially the engines. He didn't like imagining the chaos that would ensue if the engines got their own way all the time.

Straining his ears, the Fat Controller listened closely to the conversation the engines were having now.

"Where's Percy?" Thomas asked. He sounded a little worried.

"I had to take him to the Works," Edward told him kindly. "He was priming, badly."

"What's 'priming'?" James wondered.

"It's where water is carried from your boiler into your steam delivery system," Edward explained. "That happened to me once before I came to Sodor. My crew were very inexperienced, and they accidentally overfilled my boiler."

"Did it hurt?" Thomas wondered anxiously.

"At first, it did, but my case was only minor, so I was able to clear it by myself. Percy was even worse than Bill was this morning."

Henry's eyes widened in alarm. "Bill's sick too?"

"Yes," Edward confirmed.

"Serves him right," Thomas muttered.

At that moment, Ian arrived, with Gordon tagging along right behind him. Ian stopped on the turntable.

"That Fat Controller said that I was to sleep here tonight, because I'm pulling the express until you've learned your lesson!" Ian told the bigger engine firmly.

"That is my berth!" Gordon roared furiously. "It always has been since I first came here! I will NOT sleep at Knapford! Those pathetic little sheds are beneath my dignity!"

"Everything is beneath your dignity, you overgrown hunk of-" Ian got no further, because Gordon abruptly rammed the precious Ivatt engine from behind. Ian shot forwards onto James' track, but luckily his driver managed to put the brakes on hard before he even touched James' buffers. The red engine and the Ivatt stared at each other in complete surprise. James was the first to find his voice.

"That was uncalled for, Gordon! If you've jammed the turntable, you'll only have yourself to blame!"

"AHEM!"

Silence immediately filled the air. The engine all knew who that familiar voice belonged to, and he didn't sound very pleased. Seeing the Fat Controller walking sternly towards him, Gordon suddenly felt about as small as the small railway engines.

The Fat Controller pointed directly at Gordon. "Gordon! You seem to have forgotten the conversation I had with you this morning! I thought I made it very clear to you that, if you couldn't learn to behave like a responsible engine, I would shut you up inside the shed. And I didn't necessarily mean _this_ shed!"

Gordon looked down at his buffers. "I'm very sorry, sir," he muttered.

The Fat Controller crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you? Or are you just sorry that I saw what you did to Ian?"

Gordon hesitated. That was enough to answer the Fat Controller's question. "Very well. Since you won't take responsibility for your actions, you will take the mail train tonight."

Gordon was horrified! "But sir! What about Percy?"

"What about him?"

"That's his job!"

"Percy isn't well at the moment," the Fat Controller explained. "I was going to ask James to take it again, but now I'm ordering you to take it."

Gordon was completely lost for words. James and Ian subtly grinned at each other.

"Also," the Fat Controller continued, "Ian will use your berth here, while he's assigned to the express. You will sleep at Knapford, unless I can find somewhere worse for you…"

Gordon gulped. For once, he seemed to be swallowing his pride. The Fat Controller spun around on his heels to face Thomas.

"Thomas?" he began, perhaps a little too harshly, because he saw his number one engine jump.

"Yes, sir?" Thomas squeaked nervously.

The Fat Controller immediately softened his tone. "I'm sorry, Thomas. I didn't mean to make you jump." He placed a hand on Thomas' buffer to show him that he wasn't angry with him. Thomas remained tense. Sighing, the Fat Controller decided to continue with what he was going to say. "Tomorrow, I want you to go and help Ben at the China clay pits. Daisy will take care of your passengers until you get back."

"Yes, sir," Thomas whispered in reply.

The Fat Controller held up his hands. "Honestly, Thomas, I am not angry with you! Gordon's the one who should be feeling jumpy, not you! You've been doing your work very well lately, and I think it'll do you good to have a change."

"Will Bill and Percy be okay, sir?" Edward asked, hoping to deflect the Fat Controller's attention off Thomas. He didn't blame Thomas for jumping. Gordon's run-in with the Fat Controller had put all of the engines on edge.

"Yes, they will be," the Fat Controller replied. "We're still trying to work out what made them prime, but it was probably something minor. Even a change in the ph. levels in the water can be enough to make an engine prime."

Thomas grimaced. Living on the Island of Sodor had many advantages, one of the main ones was that, because the water was so pure, the engines didn't need to have water treatment added to their tanks. Steam engines on the mainland always had to have it, but not on Sodor. The purpose of water treatment was to purify the water, and keep the ph. levels balanced. Thomas recalled how, as a young engine at Brighton, he'd often tried to make his fireman forget to give him the water treatment, because it had a very disgusting taste. It was something Ian had remarked upon during his first few days on Sodor. He'd grown accustomed to having water treatment, so to suddenly not need it had surprised him.

After the Fat Controller had gone, Gordon reluctantly reversed off the turntable, giving Ian the room he needed to reverse back onto it. Without saying a word to each other, Gordon took off, while Ian reversed into Gordon's berth.

"Well, that could've ended badly if the Fat Controller hadn't shown up!" James remarked. He chuckled awkwardly until he realised that nobody else was laughing with him. Since it was clear that none of the engines felt like talking that night, they all began to settle down to sleep.

…

Early the next morning, Thomas travelled 'light engine' to Brendam. He wasn't terribly happy about going back there again, since the last time he was there, Bill and Ben had teased him viciously about his colouring; that was until Thomas had collided with a lorry filled with eggs and milk…

Thomas shuddered. He didn't like remembering what happened after that. He was fully prepared to endure a day of Ben's teasing, and so he was rather surprised to find the yard in the China clay pits in complete chaos, with Ben nowhere to be seen. Thomas cautiously entered the area. It was rather eerie to not see another engine working there.

"Ben?" Thomas called as he approached the little shed the twins normally shared.

"Who's there?" a small voice asked from inside.

Thomas entered the shed to find Ben sulking all by himself in the back corner. The smaller tank engine had obviously been crying. "Are you okay, Ben?" Thomas asked him kindly.

Ben promptly pulled himself together. "I'm fine, Thomas. So, the Fat Controller has sent you to work with me today, has he?"

"Er… Yes."

"Good. Let's get started. Percy didn't finish doing the shunting over there yesterday, so that will have to be sorted first. You can do that, while I wait for Boco to bring back some 'empties' from the docks."

Thomas frowned crossly. "You could say 'please' instead of ordering me around," he grumbled as he reversed out of the shed. "I'm not your slave…"

…

Back in the Knapford yard, there was more trouble. Ian steamed into the station to find that his express coaches weren't there waiting for him. _I'll bet Gordon is now refusing to shunt again,_ he thought as he glanced up at the clock. He still had ten minutes before the express was due to depart, so he decided to go and find out what was going on.

Ian found Gordon fast asleep on a siding. Clearly, the big engine wasn't used to having to spend most of the night pulling the mail train, as well as working during the day. Frowning, Ian sounded his deep-toned whistle, rousing the sleeping Pacific A1 class engine.

"What do you want?" Gordon grunted.

"My express coaches for a start," Ian retorted.

"Fetch them yourself!"

"I would, only, since the Fat Controller is punishing you, he'd be very upset if he found out that I'd had to fetch my own coaches, wouldn't he?"

Gordon reluctantly went to fetch Ian's coaches. "You'd better watch your tender, Ian, because I will get you one of these days…"

Ian wasn't rattled by that! He now knew that Gordon was all talk and no puff. "Is that a threat?" he challenged playfully.

"Call it whatever you want. I can't wait for you to go back to wherever it was you came from!"

"Well, you'll have a long wait!"

Once the coaches were in position at the platform, Ian reversed onto the train. He failed to notice that Gordon had remained coupled to the back of the train. When the guard sounded his whistle, Ian tried to move forwards, but Gordon's weight held him back.

"Grr!" Ian groaned as he strained against the couplings. Then his wheels slipped badly, causing his safety valves to go off. His driver quickly closed the regulator, while the fireman gave Ian a drink to help settle his safety valves. _The brakes must be on somewhere…_ Ian thought with annoyance.

Unbeknown to Ian, a shunter was now uncoupling Gordon from the train. A moment later, Ian summoned up all of his strength to have another go at starting. When he did, the coaches promptly jerked forwards, slamming into Ian's buffers, propelling him forwards as well. Ian gasped when he heard some of the passengers tumble off their seats. Behind him, Gordon started laughing.

 _Oh, no!_ Ian groaned in dismay. _How on earth am I going to explain this to the Fat Controller?_

He didn't have long to wait to find out. The Fat Controller had arrived just in time to see what had happened. Unfortunately for Ian, he didn't see Gordon slink away.

"IAN!" the Fat Controller bellowed. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry, sir," Ian apologised. "I didn't know that Gordon had been uncoupled."

"Well, of course he was uncoupled! You wouldn't be able to start if he was coupled to the train."

"That's what-"

The Fat Controller held up his hand. "I don't want to hear excuses, Ian! Now hurry up! You're five minutes late!"

Ian paled, and he started hyperventilating. "Late? Oh, no! No, I can't be late! It might happen again!" he exclaimed as he bolted out of the station with the express.

Puzzled, the Fat Controller stared after Ian as the express disappeared around a bend. _What on earth did he mean by that? Surely, he can't be afraid of being late, can he? It'd sure explain a lot though!_

Turning, the Fat Controller almost bumped into a shunter. "Whoops! Sorry."

"That's okay, sir. May I have a word with you in private, sir? It's about Gordon…"

…

Meanwhile, at the China clay pits, Thomas and Ben had almost finished the shunting, and the yard was looking a lot more organised now, but the engines were beginning to get thirsty.

"Let's have a race to the water tower!" Thomas suggested, hoping to cheer Ben up.

"All right," Ben half-heartedly agreed.

"Ready?" Thomas called. "Set… Go!" He took off quickly, leaving Ben struggling to catch up.

Thomas won the race. He chuckled when Ben drew up alongside him, panting heavily. "Water!" he gasped.

"We'll have to use the other water tower, Ben," his driver told him. And they hurried away to the far side of the yard.

Thomas sighed contently as he felt the cool water run into his tanks. It hadn't been a bad day for him so far, despite Ben's attitude.

Before long, both engines were back at work. Ben decided to take a long train of trucks to the docks, while Thomas opted to remain in the pits to do some more shunting. Shortly after Ben had gone, Thomas had just begun shunting the trucks, when a loud rumbling noise sounded near an area between Brendam and the China clay pits known as the 'drain'. It sounded like thunder, so Thomas instinctively looked up towards the sky.

 _Strange… Not a cloud in sight!_

Putting the strange sound to the back of his mind, Thomas resumed his work. However, it wasn't long before they saw Ben's fireman come running into the yard. He appeared to be in a state of shock.

"What's happened?" Thomas' driver asked as he jumped down from the cab. He had to help the poor fireman sit down on the ground before he could speak.

"Ben's cylinder blew out," the fireman panted. "I only just managed to jump clear in time… Driver injured…"

Thomas' driver quickly called over some of the workers to come and attend to the fireman. He then went inside the foreman's hut to raise the alarm. He returned a few minutes later.

"James is on his way with the breakdown train, and an ambulance is on its way here. We'll take Thomas to go and collect the injured driver. We'll have to hurry though."

Sensing the urgency in his driver's voice, Thomas responded with a will, and they hurried away down the line.

Before long, Thomas arrived at the scene of the accident. Even though he couldn't get close enough to Ben to see how he was, because of the train, he guessed that Ben was unconscious. He watched on anxiously as his crew and the guard helped lift Ben's injured driver into his cab.

"I'll stay here to protect the train," the guard said. "You'd better hurry now. Those burns will require urgent treatment."

Again, Thomas didn't hesitate. It was one thing to go fast for fun, but it was another thing entirely when you know that someone is depending on you.

An ambulance was waiting at the place where the railway line and road meet. Thomas watched on as Ben's driver was carefully loaded inside. Once the ambulance had gone, Thomas returned to the 'drain', so he could take Ben's train back to the China clay pits. He only hoped that poor Ben wasn't in too much pain.

 **Thank you so much for your reviews! I know things are looking bad for Ben right now, but I promise you that this story does have a very happy ending.**

 **As a bit of fun, I thought I'd play a little game… Ben's incident is based on a real life accident. The first person to correctly guess the name of the incident, what type of locomotive was involved, and what year it occurred in, wins! Simple, right? Good luck!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Taking Precautions

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 8 – Taking Precautions

That evening, the Fat Controller summoned all of his steam engines to Knapford Station, so he could talk to them together. By now, the news of Ben's cylinder blowout had circulated, so the engines believed that that was what the Fat Controller wanted to talk to them about. And they were right.

As soon as the engines had arrived and settled down, the Fat Controller stood up on a dais, so they could all see him. "First of all, I'm sure you all know by now what has happened to Percy, Bill and Ben. While Percy and Bill will need a few more days to fully recover from their priming, Ben will require major repairs. We are still trying to figure out the reason for their priming, and as part of our investigation, I'm afraid I'm going to have to subject all of you to twice daily water testing."

A collective groan arose from all of the engines. That is, except for Ian. He was used to having his water tested at least once a week, and he understood that the Fat Controller needed to be strict to ensure that all of his engines remained healthy.

"This will help us to work out where the water contamination is happening," the Fat Controller continued. "While we know that it seems to have begun in the China clay pits, it might spread, and I know that none of us want that."

The engines muttered in agreement. The Fat Controller was about to continue again, when Gordon spoke up.

"Sir? Have you noticed that this epidemic began just after Ian arrived here?"

"What about it?" the Fat Controller asked, narrowing his gaze at Gordon.

Gordon twitched nervously. "Well, sir, what if he brought some sort of contamination with him from the mainland?"

Ian let off steam crossly. "Trust you to accuse me of something like that!"

"Yes, don't be silly, Gordon," Edward added. "You should know that steam engines can't spread diseases the way humans can."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Gordon muttered darkly.

"That's enough, Gordon!" the Fat Controller ordered. "Ian is not to blame for this, any more than you are. This is a water-borne contamination. And, if I were you, I'd be keeping my mouth shut and stop accusing others. I know all about what you did to Ian this morning. You're already in disgrace, so unless you want a harsher punishment, I strongly suggest that you come down off your high horse."

Seeing the other engines glaring at him, Gordon looked down at his buffers. The Fat Controller turned to Ian.

"Ian, I'm sorry I blamed you for what happened with the express this morning. I now know that Gordon was entirely at fault."

"Thank you, sir," Ian muttered, breathing a small sigh of relief.

"Sir?" Toby called. "What will happen if this contamination does spread?"

"At this stage, I'm hoping that we can contain it to the Brendam area," the Fat Controller replied. "However, if the inspectors do notice any significant changes to your water, you'll be taken out of service until the matter is dealt with."

"What do you mean by 'dealt with', sir?" Duck asked.

"The inspector will decide how best to treat you. Uh, Thomas…?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm afraid the China Clay Company needs to have at least two engines working there at all times, so I'm going to have to leave you there for now…"

"But sir!" Thomas protested. "I don't want to get sick with priming!"

"I know you don't, and to be honest, I can't afford to have another engine sick again either, so as a precaution, you're going to have to have water treatment at least once a day while you're there."

"What? Oh, no!" Thomas grumbled, and he pouted miserably.

"I'm sorry, Thomas, but there's nothing else I can do." The Fat Controller did sound genuinely sorry. "Since working at the China clay pits will be risky, I'm going to ask for a volunteer to help Thomas, rather than ordering one of you to help."

"I'll do it!" Ian immediately volunteered. The other engines gasped in surprised, so Ian explained his reasoning. "I'm used to having water treatment, unlike the rest of you. I'm also finding the express rather boring."

Gordon gasped audibly. "Boring? Well, that just goes to show how little you know, you pathetic tank engine!"

"Uh, Ian does have a tender, Gordon," Toby said sensibly. "That makes him a tender engine, just like yourself."

"He is _nothing_ like me!"

"Och aye!" Donald exclaimed.

"And just what did you mean by that, Donald?"

"Anyone would think ye were jealous o' Ian!" Douglas answered on his twin's behalf. They exchanged knowing winks.

"Huh!" Gordon grunted. "Why on earth would you think I was jealous of him?"

"Perhaps it's because he can do twice the amount of work you can, in half the time!" James blurted out.

"Lazy wheels!" Thomas added cheekily.

"Yeah, we all know you have it in for Ian!" Oliver shouted from the back.

"You're nothing but a big fat bully, Gordon!" Henry added. He'd often longed to say that, but he'd never had the courage until now.

The Fat Controller stood back for a moment, giving his engines the freedom to say what they thought about Gordon, directly to his face. He knew that it was healthy for them to do this from time to time, and so he didn't interfere. Like people, they sometimes needed to get some things out of their smokeboxes. Besides, it'd do Gordon some good to know what the other engines really thought of his treatment towards Ian.

As the noise died down, the Fat Controller held up his hands for silence. "Going back to what I was saying, thank you Ian for volunteering. If Gordon wasn't too heavy for Edward's branchline, I'd send him to the China clay pits instead of you. Henry can pull the express while I'm punishing Gordon. You can all get back to work now. Don't forget you've got the mail train again tonight, Gordon."

Now it was Gordon's turn to pout. "Oh, the indignity!"

"You are so narrow-minded, Gordon!" Ian retorted as the Fat Controller began making his way back to his office. "You think so much about your vanity, that it's hard to believe that you're related to Flying Scotsman…"

Gordon gasped in surprise. "Wait! You know my brother?"

"Of course! All preserved steam engines on the mainland have had the honour of meeting him at least once. I've met his at least five times. It's such a pity you're not kind like him!"

"I am kind!" Gordon protested.

"You're not!" all of the other engines retorted in one voice.

Gordon froze, surprised. "I…I…I suppose I might be a bit of a bully…"

"A bit?" Thomas exclaimed. "You are a bully Gordon! Face it!"

"It never hurts to be kind, Gordon," Edward added. "Rebelling against the Fat Controller doesn't help you either."

"I don't rebel!"

"Then what do you call what you're doing now?" James snorted.

"Oh, just stop it, everyone!" Thomas exclaimed loudly. Then he moaned pitifully. "You're giving me a headache…"

"You'll have more than a headache once the inspectors start giving you water treatment," James teased.

"You can shut up too, James!" Ian snapped. "Don't you all have work to do?"

"Who made you the Fat Controller?" James sneered.

A loud whistle echoed throughout the station. Confused, the engines looked around until they saw the Fat Controller standing on platform one, with his arms folded sternly over his chest.

"I dismissed you all five minutes ago!" he said firmly. "That means, 'get back to work, please'."

The engines slowly departed the station, leaving Ian and Thomas alone.

"Would you like me to escort you back to the sheds?" Ian asked Thomas kindly once the Fat Controller had returned inside his office.

"Yes, please," Thomas whispered.

"I know what it's like to have a headache, and I've found that the best thing for them is a good night's sleep. Don't worry. We'll get this contamination sorted out soon."

The two engines slowly made their way to Tidmouth sheds. Ian waited until Thomas was settled in his berth before he reversed into Gordon's berth. Before long, Edward, James and Henry arrived, but they didn't bother talking. Thomas was already fast asleep, and Ian was deep in thought. He had a hunch about the source of the contamination, but he needed to go to the China clay pits first to be sure of his theory. That was the real reason why he'd volunteered. After all, even though he was used to water treatment, it was still awful stuff for any engine to drink.

…

The following morning, Thomas slowly awoke to the warm feeling of the firelighter building up his fire. He smiled blissfully at first when he realised that his headache had gone at last. But then, he frowned when he remembered what the Fat Controller had told him and the other engines the evening before. A soft groan escaped his lips.

"Are you awake, Thomas?" the firelighter whispered from inside the cab.

"Yes…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Try and get some more sleep."

Thomas sighed, and then he yawned widely.

"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?" Ian whispered from the other side of the sheds.

Thomas reluctantly opened his eyes. "It's still dark!"

"Shh! Of course it is! I love this time of the day the best. It's called pre-dawn."

"I know what it's called," Thomas grunted. "I wish the Fat Controller would give you the mail train, so you're not waking the rest of us up at this ridiculous hour."

"To be fair, you woke yourself up, so you can't exactly blame me."

Thomas realised that Ian was right. "Touché." He closed his eyes to try and get a few more hours sleep.

When Thomas next awoke, the sun was up, along with the other engines. Then he saw the reason why he'd awoken so suddenly. The Fat Controller had just arrived, along with three inspectors from the Works. The inspectors were all carrying Gladstone bags and several bottles.

"So, which engines would you like us to test first?" one of the inspectors asked.

"Ian, Thomas and Edward," the Fat Controller replied. "Ian and Thomas will also require water treatment."

"This might take some time. Giving an overdose of water treatment can be just as bad for them as having contaminated water."

The inspectors climbed into the cabs of their respective engines, and they got to work. All engines have a little tap inside their cabs which allows for water samples to be taken directly from their boilers. This ensures for an accurate test of the actual water inside the boiler, which can be different from the water inside an engine's tanks.

Once Thomas' inspector had drawn off a water sample into a Styrofoam cup, he brought it around to Thomas's front end, so that the tank engine could watch what he was doing.

"When did you last have water treatment?" the inspector asked Thomas as he opened up his test kit.

"Not since I left Brighton, over a hundred years ago," Thomas replied.

"Well, I can happily assure you that the method hasn't changed much since then."

Thomas pulled a disgusted face, making the inspector chuckle.

"I know how you feel," he sympathised. "We sometimes called water treatment 'steam engine medicine'. I suppose it is, in many ways. The biggest difference is that this is supposed to prevent you getting ill, whereas medicine is supposed to help you get better faster. Right, well, your pH levels are spot on normal. They're supposed to be around eight-point-five pH, and you're sitting on eight-point-three. That seems to surprise a lot of people. They think that pure water is a pH of seven, but it isn't. That's just the level that's safe for humans to drink. You steam engines need your water to be more alkaline. Now, I just need to run a few more tests, and then I'll measure out the correct dosage of water treatment for you."

"How much longer is this going to take?" Thomas complained.

"You can't rush this process. I'd hate to make a mistake; especially with you."

Thomas sighed impatiently. Once the inspector had completed his tests, he went to the boot of the Fat Controller's car. He returned to Thomas carrying several large containers filled with mostly dark-coloured liquids. He placed them on Thomas' running board, next to the test kit.

"What's all that?" Thomas wondered.

"The water treatment ingredients. Since each steam engine is so different, it's better for us to tailer a correct water treatment for each of you. Sure, it means more work for us, but it's much better for you."

"Oh. When I was at Brighton, my fireman used to try and sneak the water treatment into my tank, so I never got to see what it looks like."

The inspector chuckled again as he began pouring the first ingredient into a measuring cup. Once he was happy with the amount, he transferred it into a special bottle with a funnel placed in the lid. The funnel was to ensure that the full amount went into the bottle.

"So, what is that brown stuff?" Thomas asked curiously.

"This is potash. It helps to reduce acid in the water, which is why I'm only adding a small amount. That should be enough to bring you pH level up to exactly eight-point-five."

"Okay. And that other brown stuff?"

"That's tannin. It helps prevent corrosion caused by contamination."

"Oh." Thomas didn't quite understand all of that, but he trusted the inspector. He watched as the inspector added a few more things to the mixture. Once the inspector was happy with the amounts, he removed the funnel, secured the lid, and then he began shaking the bottle vigorously to mix everything together.

"I'm only giving you half a litre to start with," the inspector explained. "Most engines your size who need water treatment get about two to four litres every second day. Since your water balance is okay at the moment, I don't want to upset your system too much just yet."

Thomas breathed a small sigh of relief. The inspector climbed up onto Thomas' running board, and he flipped open the lid of Thomas' right-hand side water tank. Thomas grimaced when he heard the water treatment being poured into his tanks. It tasted rather bitter at first, but the water in his tanks diluted it quickly.

"How does that taste?" the inspector asked once he'd climbed down.

"It's okay, I guess," Thomas replied slowly. "I suppose it could be worse though, right?"

The inspector nodded. "I'll see you again later tonight."

Ian whistled as he moved onto the turntable. "Come on, Thomas! We don't want to be late."

Rolling his eyes, Thomas reluctantly followed Ian out of the yard.

 **Thank you everyone for your reviews! They've been greatly** **appreciated** **. I'm so glad you're all loving how realistic my stories are. Working on real steam railways has its advantages, lol! For that reason, I apologise if some of you find this chapter a little boring, but it's a topic I'm currently learning about as a trainee fireman, so I thought it might interest some of you too. Plus, it is important to the story.**

 **So far, I haven't had anyone try to guess what real-life incident inspired Ben's cylinder blow-out, so I'll give you a few small hints. It occurred in the UK, and there is a video of it on YouTube. I won't say anything more, or I might give away the answers! I wish I could offer a reward for whoever guesses first, but I just wanted to have a bit of fun. Thanks for reading! I'll try to update again very soon.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Ian's Theory

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

Chapter 9 – Ian's Theory

The first job Thomas and Ian did that morning was to double-headed a train of empty trucks down to Brendam docks for Edward. When they arrived, they found Edward, Boco and Bear standing on the tracks closest to the water. They were looking at something in the water.

"We've brought your spare trucks, Edward," Thomas said.

"Thank you, Thomas," Edward replied dismissively.

"What are you all looking at?" Ian wondered.

"Come and see for yourselves," Bear said.

Once Thomas and Ian had been uncoupled, they joined the others. Peering down the stone wall that made up the quay, Ian and Thomas gasped in shock. Hundreds of dead fish were floating in the water.

"How did they die?" Thomas wanted to know.

"We don't know," Boco answered. "Driver is reporting it to the dock's manager. Hopefully, they'll find out what it was quickly."

Thomas screwed up his face in disgust. "And in the meantime, we have to put up with the pungent fragrance of 'Eau de dead fish'."

Ian had to laugh in spite of himself. "Parlez-vous français, Thomas?"

Thomas stared at Ian in confusion. "What?"

"Never mind. Let's get to work at the clay pits. I want to try something…"

Thomas hurried after Ian. "What do you want to try?"

"I have a theory about what's going on, but if I'm right, I could end up priming just like the others."

"Then, please don't try it!"

"I have to, Thomas. Now, please show me around the China clay pits."

When they arrived, Thomas showed Ian where everything was. Ian listened closely.

"So, there are only two water towers here then?"

"Yes," Thomas replied cautiously. He didn't know what Ian was thinking, but he was more worried than ever now.

"Relax, Thomas! I deliberately came here to try and solve the mystery. You don't actually think I _enjoy_ taking water treatment, do you?"

"Well, you could've fooled me!"

"Just because I'm used to something, it doesn't mean I actually like it. You don't enjoy going to the Works, do you?"

"Of course not! No engine does."

"But you're used to it, right?"

"I guess so…"

"There you are then! By the way, how are you feeling now with that water treatment?"

Thomas pouted. "Don't ask!"

"Sorry. Now, are there any water columns here?"

"There is one, but it hasn't been used in years."

"I see…And which water tower did Ben refill from yesterday?"

"The far one."

"And you refilled from this one?"

"Yes."

"Right… From now on, you're to refill your tanks from this water tower only. Do you understand, Thomas?"

"Yes, but…why?"

"I'm going to test something, and I don't want you to get involved. The Fat Controller can't afford to have another one of his engines out of service, can he?"

"No…"

"Cheer up! Let's get to work shunting. Which trucks are mine?"

"Over there."

Ian steamed over to where the trucks had been left scattered all over the place. He began to shunt them into order.

"Who are you?" one of the trucks sniffed. "You're not a proper engine!"

"Yeah!" another truck piped up. "Only tank engines can shunt!"

Ian ignored the trucks' comments. Thomas couldn't help but watch as the Ivatt engine continued with his work methodically. Finally, Ian had a train of about ten trucks ready to be loaded up with China clay. But instead of taking them over to the loading bay, he stayed where he was; coupled up so that he was facing his train of trucks.

"So, are we going, or not?" the front truck demanded.

Ian didn't respond. He merely closed his eyes, as if he was planning on having a nap. The trucks sniggered.

"Silly engine! Let's bump him later!"

Thomas steamed closer. "Uh, Ian? What are you doing?"

Ian still didn't move or respond. The trucks began to grow impatient.

"Hurry up! It's hot in the sun!"

"Why are we waiting?"

"Yeah! What's the hold-up?"

Without warning, Ian's eyes flew open, and he hurried backwards down the line a short distance, jerking the train of trucks after him. The trucks screamed with fright. Barely pausing, Ian's driver shifted him into forward gear, and Ian responded by pushing the trucks back into the siding. He only stopped when the trucks hit the buffers. The jolt resonated throughout the whole train, making the trucks shriek again. The one on front of Ian rolled his eyes giddily.

"Ian! What are you doing?" Thomas demanded to know.

"I saw a farmer doing something similar to a horse once," Ian explained as he jerked backwards again, dragging the screaming troublesome trucks after him. He pushed the trucks back into the siding before he continued speaking. "Every time the horse misbehaved, the farmer would force it to trot in a tight circle around him. Eventually, the horse realised that he had to work harder whenever he misbehaved, so he started doing what the farmer told him to do. Since then, I've done this to nearly all of the troublesome trucks I encounter." Ian shot backwards again. "It may be a bother, but it works every time."

By now, the trucks were feeling rather dizzy. Ian gave them a final push into the siding. They trembled, fearing that Ian would keep on jerking them. Instead, Ian calmly took them over to the loading bay. Thomas frowned as he watched the troublesome trucks timidly follow Ian.

 _I've spent over a hundred years being bullied and harassed by those troublesome trucks, and Ian just comes along and 'poof!' No more troublesome trucks! Perhaps Gordon's right. If the Fat Controller finds out what Ian's doing, he could have us all replaced with Ivatts!_

Ian steamed up alongside Thomas. "Hey, Thomas! Would you like me to teach you how to tame the trucks?"

Thomas instantly forgot his negative thoughts. "Yes, please!"

And so, Ian and Thomas spent the rest of the morning jerking the troublesome trucks around. By the time they were done, the trucks were feeling dizzy instead of troublesome, and they meekly followed along behind each engine when they were taken down to the docks.

By the time Ian and Thomas returned from Brendam docks, they were both feeling very thirsty. Since Thomas's tanks were smaller and almost empty, he went to fill up at the main water tower first, while Ian waited patiently behind him.

"So…what do you think is wrong with the other water tower, Ian?" Thomas asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Do you know where the water for it comes from?"

"No, but I'm sure Edward must know."

"Thank you. Now, I've spoken with my crew, and they know what to do, so please don't worry about me."

Thomas wanted to ask more, but he realised that Ian didn't want to discuss his theory yet. He watched on as Ian's tender was filled almost to the brim with fresh water.

"Wish me luck!" Ian said, before he steamed over to the other water tower.

"Good luck," Thomas whispered.

Once Ian was at the other water tower, his fireman jumped back up onto his tender, and he topped up Ian's water tank with water from that tower.

"Stop!" Ian suddenly exclaimed. His driver promptly turned off the tap.

"So, you think that this water's bad?" Ian's fireman asked.

"Yes," Ian replied. "I can already taste it."

"What does it taste like?" his driver asked.

Ian licked his lips. "I'm not really sure how to describe it. I've never tasted anything like it before…"

"Do you think you're likely to prime?" the fireman asked with concern.

Ian hesitated before answering. "Yes. This water tastes awful! If it got into my boiler…well, we've all seen what can happen."

Ian's crew promptly jumped into action. The fireman began dropping Ian's fire, while the driver unscrewed a plug in the bottom of Ian's tender. It was there to help drain the water quickly from the tender in the event of an emergency, or for convenience at the Works. Ian shivered as he felt the cold, gushing water splash against his wheels.

Thomas steamed over to Ian. "Are you okay, Ian?"

"No, but I will be if you can shunt me over to the other water tower, please."

Thomas gladly did so. Once Ian's tender had been refilled with fresh water, his fireman set about building up his fire again.

"Can I ask you a question?" Thomas asked cautiously.

Ian smiled. "You just did."

Thomas snorted. "Okay, very funny. Seriously, what were you just doing?"

"I've been trying to figure out what's causing the priming."

"And…have you figured it out?"

"Possibly."

Just then, Edward's friendly whistle was heard in the distance. A few minutes later, Edward steamed into the yard with a train of empty trucks.

"What kind of magician are you, Ian?" he asked. "These troublesome trucks have never been so well-behaved before!"

Ian smiled. "I'll tell you my secret, if you can tell me where the water for that other water tower comes from."

"It comes from a man-made lake, up above the China clay pits," Edward answered.

"I see…" Ian mused. "Do you know where else it runs to?"

"The ocean."

"And, do you know what else is up there?"

"Not much besides that new chemical plant."

Ian smiled slightly. He had almost fitted all of the puzzle pieces together now. "Thank you, Edward. You've been more helpful than you realise. And now, as promised, I'll teach you my secret with the trucks…"

 **Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to leave a review! I'm so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. Writing a really good Thomas story isn't anywhere near as easy as it seems, so I'm delighted that my work is being held to such a high standard. My aim is to write contemporary stories that are based on the Railway Series, rather than the TV series. As for the water treatment, it is standard practice for most steam engines to have it as part of the maintenance routine, but there are a few places, including the Island of Sodor, where the water is naturally so pure, that water treatment is simply a waste of money. As I said previously, it is currently something I'm learning about in detail, so I'm glad I was able to teach you something new too. Thank you for reading. Looking forward to more reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Mystery is Solved

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.**

 **Chapter 10** **–** **The Mystery is Solved**

Inside his office at Knapford Station, the Fat Controller glanced uneasily at his phone. He was, more or less, expecting a call from the manager of the Sodor China Clay Company, to say that either Thomas or Ian had primed. He even had the Works on standby to deal with them, just in case. The only phone call he'd received, however, had been from the Works foreman to say that Percy and Bill would be well enough to return to work the following day. That was good news at least, because he could cope with being short one engine. Being short two or more engines would create a logistical nightmare for him, and he didn't want to have to deal with that situation today. He was too busy trying to get through the mountain of paperwork in front of him.

Hearing Ian's deep whistle, the Fat Controller looked out of the window. Ian was just steaming into the station with a train of trucks filled with China clay. Thomas was banking him.

"Why are we stopping here, Ian?" Thomas complained. "We have to get this load to the harbour!"

"I want to speak to the Fat Controller, Thomas. But you can take the train by yourself, if you like."

Grumbling, Thomas ran around the train. Ian was uncoupled, and he ran forward ahead of the points, so that Thomas could back down onto the train.

Once Thomas had departed with the train of trucks, Ian reversed over to platform one. He smiled slightly when he saw the Fat Controller already standing there on the platform.

"So, how did things go for you and Thomas today?" the Fat Controller asked, trying hard not to sound impatient.

"Quite well, sir. We managed to get all of the trains out on time, and the yard there is now tidy again."

The Fat Controller frowned as his impatience levels rose. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Ian, but I was sure I heard you telling Thomas that you wanted to speak to me?"

"Er…yes, sir. I do want to speak to you. But not here in the open. Do you mind if we go somewhere quiet, where we're not likely to be disturbed?"

The Fat Controller exhaled deeply. "Does it have to be now, Ian? I have a huge pile of paperwork I need to get done."

"Please, sir," Ian begged. "It's very important!"

"Oh! Very well…"

The Fat Controller climbed onto Ian's footplate. Then, Ian and his crew took the Fat Controller down the line a little way, and they stopped in a siding. The Fat Controller turned to Ian's crew.

"Now, what's this all about?"

"Ian can tell you," the driver replied. "After all, he was the one who figured out what was going on down at the China clay pits."

The Fat Controller leaned out of the cab window. "Well, Ian?"

Ian gladly told the Fat Controller about everything he'd discovered that day. The Fat Controller listened patiently until Ian had finished.

"I'll get onto the police right away! Great detective work there, Ian! I think you've solved the mystery. I'll also phone the manager of the China clay pits, to let him know that it's far too dangerous to use steam engines there now. Boco and Bear will have to look after the China clay pits until this mess is sorted out. And you'll have to help Edward on his branch line in the meantime. Thank you, Ian. Can you take me back to the station, please?

"Yes, sir!"

…

Later that night, Ian struggled to get to sleep. When he finally did, he began to dream about his last day of service on the Severn Valley Railway…

 _Ian's fireman frowned as he examined Ian's tube plate. Reaching out, he gently touched the water that was leaking out. Ian coughed painfully._

 _"_ _It's really not that bad…" he began, but his fireman cut him off._

 _"_ _It is bad, Ian, and you know it. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to report this to the manager as soon as possible."_

 _"_ _What do you have to report to me?"_

 _Ian froze when he heard the manager's voice behind him. The fireman shone his torch inside Ian's boiler again._

 _"_ _Take a look at the tube plate, sir, and tell me what you think?"_

 _The manager did so. He also touched the leaking water. Then he sighed sadly. "That is a bad leak. When did you first notice it?"_

 _"_ _Just now."_

 _"_ _Right, well, I'm afraid Ian won't be able to run again until a fitter takes a good look at him. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as it looks…"_

 _Ian coughed again. The manager frowned sternly as he walked away…_

 _Several days later, one of the railway's preserved diesels, shunted Ian along the line towards Highley. Ian was very scared, but he tried hard not to show it. He'd been past the Engine House at Highley thousands of times before, and it had always frightened him. He'd seen several of his friends disappear inside there over the years, but none of them had ever come out again. Now, he was the one being sent there._

 _Once the points had been changed, and the huge doors thrown open, the diesel pushed Ian inside the dark building._

 _"_ _There you go, old chap," the diesel said. "Welcome to the rest of your life!"_

 _Ian gulped. Once his eyes had adjusted to the dimness, he saw seven other steam engines inside the huge building. He recognised six of them._

 _"_ _What do you mean 'the rest of my life'?" Ian demanded to know._

 _"_ _This is what men do to unfortunate steam engines who are no longer useful," an LMS Stanier explained._

 _"_ _They leave us broken and sick, and put us on what they call 'static display'," a GWR 4300 class added. "Then, they let other people come and gawk at us."_

 _"_ _I'd rather be scrapped," a little Hunslet whispered sadly._

 _Ian was shocked. After all the years of loyal service he'd given, this was where he'd ended up. Tears welled up in his eyes as the Diesel pushed him further inside the shed._

 _"_ _No! Stop!" Ian yelled. He tried to apply his brakes, but of course, he couldn't. Closing his eyes, Ian began yelling and screaming in protest…_

"IAN!"

Ian awoke with a jerk. Someone was screaming. It took him a few seconds to realise that he was the one creating all the noise. He immediately stopped. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was still night time, and all of the other engines were glaring crossly at him.

"What's going on?" Ian gasped. But he'd already guessed…

"I think you were having a nightmare," Edward said kindly. "What was it about?"

Ian blushed shamefully. "I don't want to talk about it…"

"I think I know," Thomas said quietly. "Try to go back to sleep, Ian. We can talk about it tomorrow…"

"Thank you, Thomas," Ian whispered gratefully.

The engines soon settled back down to sleep again. Ian, however, remained awake for a little longer. He knew why he'd suddenly had that nightmare. He was worried that the Fat Controller would send him back to the Severn Railway, and he knew he simply wouldn't be able to bear it if he was put on static display again…

…

The next morning, the Fat Controller asked for all of his engines to assemble at Knapford Station at midday. While they waited for the Fat Controller to arrive, the engines started talking excitedly amongst themselves.

"I saw police cars everywhere at Wellsworth this morning!" Henry said. "They were heading towards Brendam."

"I saw some important-liking people go into the Fat Controller's office before," James added. "Do you think he's in trouble?"

"Why on earth would the Fat Controller be in trouble?" Toby wondered.

"Don't worry, Toby," Thomas said. "I'm sure the Fat Controller isn't the one in trouble."

"Calm down, everyone," Edward interjected. "I saw the police heading towards that new chemical plant, so I'd say that it's something to do with that."

"Indeed you're right, Edward!" the Fat Controller's voice boomed. He was just about to continue, when they heard a familiar, cheerful whistle.

"Percy!" Thomas and Edward exclaimed happily in unison.

A moment later, Percy steamed into the station. "I'm sorry I'm late, sir!" he panted.

The Fat Controller waved a hand dismissively. "That's perfectly all right, Percy. We're just so glad to have you safely back with us. And now, the reason for why I summoned you all here today…

He walked straight over to Ian, and affectionately placed a hand on his handrail. "Ian? What colour paintwork would you like?"

"Uh…" Ian hesitated, completely stunned by the Fat Controller's question.

The Fat Controller laughed, just as Gordon snorted.

"Why should Ian get a new paint job?"

Ian looked a little hurt, until the Fat Controller explained. "Because, I've purchased Ian from the Severn Valley Railway!"

Ian gasped in shock. "You-you've bought me, sir?"

"That's right, Ian! You now belong to the North Western Railway!"

"But…I thought I was here on a year's trial, sir?"

"That was until yesterday. Your little bit of detective work gave us the final piece to the puzzle that we needed to alert the authorities. You see, when Bill and Percy primed, I had their water tested for foreign substances…"

Thomas saw Percy cringe.

"…and we found high levels of numerous chemical compounds in their water. While we knew that the water from the man-made lake ran into the water tower, we had no idea that the chemical plant was also using that lake as a dumping ground for their chemical waste."

The engines gasped in shock and disbelief.

"But…how does Ian fit into all this, sir?" James wondered.

The Fat Controller patted Ian again. "Ian here, was brave enough to test the water in the tower for himself. Luckily, he had his crew drain his tender before any of it could get into his boiler. That's how he managed to avoid priming. But he also realised, thanks to Edward, that the water from the lake flowed into the sea, and that it was poisoning all of the fish. The dumping of dangerous waste materials is not only extremely careless, but it's also highly illegal. With any luck, that chemical plant will be shut down, but I won't go holding my breath. However, because of Ian's unselfish bravery, I decided to buy him, and give him a permanent home here on the North Western Railway."

The other engines cheered and whistle loudly.

"Welcome to your new home, Ian!" Thomas called.

Ian's cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. The Fat Controller smiled broadly at him. "So, Ian… Have you thought about what colour you'd like to be?"

"Well, sir, some of my younger brothers were painted in a lovely forest green with red lining… I've always like that colour scheme on them, so would you mind if I choose that?"

"Of course I don't mind!" the Fat Controller beamed. "After what you've done, you can have any colour scheme you want! You could've selected pink and purple, and I would have said 'yes'."

Ian pulled a disgusted face. "Yuck! Pink and purple? Who'd be crazy enough to paint an engine in those ugly colours?"

The other engines laughed heartily.

…

Later that evening, Ian had just brought a train of trucks into the Knapford yard for Gordon to shunt, when he saw the Fat Controller speaking sternly to Gordon over near the water tower. Not wanting to leave the trucks in a bad position, Ian shunted them into a spare siding. Then, he steamed over to the water tower just in time to see the Fat Controller walking away.

Gordon remained where he was. For a moment, neither engine spoke. It was Gordon who eventually broke the silence.

"I'm sorry I've been so horrible to you, Ian…"

Ian's jaw nearly hit his buffers! "Excuse me?"

Gordon sighed despondently. "Yes… I've been thinking a lot about what happened the other day… You know, when you all said that I was a bully. I guess I didn't realise until then just how awful I am towards you other engines. And to you especially. Douglas was right. I _am_ jealous of you, but not because you can shunt. It's because I felt threatened by you. I was worried that the Fat Controller would have us all scrapped, and that he'd replace us all with engines like you."

Ian had to smile. "The Fat Controller would never do that, Gordon. Sure, like most people who've never seen an Ivatt before, he's fascinated, but sadly the fascination soon disappears. I'm just like all the other engines here, only I'm a little bit more versatile. I'm sure the Fat Controller will let me pull the express for a while now, just to show me off, but soon I'll become a jack-of-all-trades, just like Donald and Douglas. And, unlike you, I _need_ to work hard."

"Well, I suppose I won't mind if you pull the express from time to… Just a moment! Did you just insult me then?"

"I'm doing my very best!" Ian retorted cheekily. "You might be a big fat bully, Gordon, but in the end, it's us smaller engines who'll have the last laugh!"

"But…you're not small! You're… Ooohhh! The indignity!"

Ian scurried away while he still could, laughing hysterically.

Gordon rolled his eyes. "I still say he's nothing more than a glorified tank engine!"

…

Ian has now been repainted in forest green with red stripes. The colour scheme really suits him well, and he no longer lives with the fear of being put on static display again. At present, Ian is back working in the Knapford yard as a shunter. Gordon's apology to Ian was enough to convince the Fat Controller to let him pull the express once again. While Ian enjoys working in the yard, he is always delighted whenever the Fat Controller gives him a special job to do somewhere else on the Island. And, although Ian and Gordon have made up, Ian still enjoys teasing him. His little pranks work out even better when Thomas is around to join in.

Despite the Fat Controller's, and many others' protests, the government decided to keep the chemical plant in operation, but under some very strict guidelines on how to safely dispose of their chemical waste. The manager was sacked and heavily fined, and a new manager was appointed, who could be trusted to operate the chemical plant safely. Since the changes, there have been no further issues with the chemical plant.

As for Ben and his injured driver, they both made full recoveries, and are back working with Bill and his crew at the China clay pits. Ben's driver will always have some scars as a result of his burns, but he is proud to show them off as a reminder of just how lucky he and Ben were that day.

 **And very sadly, that is the final chapter of this story... I've really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you've all enjoyed reading it. I have to thank** **CyberSearcher** **for suggesting that I include a scene where Ian remembers his time while on static display. Personally, I hate seeing steam engines on static display, so I tried to show exactly how they must feel about it. I can imagine that it'd be like becoming a** **quadriplegic** **, where you're still alive, but you can't do anything.**

 **On a much happier note, I have started work on my next story, which I've entitled, 'Alex the Austrian Engine', so please keep an eye out for that one coming soon! Again, thank you so much for reading and for your reviews! They've all been greatly appreciated.**


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